Hope You Didn't Have the Under in the Lions-Packers Game

The over-under for last night’s Detroit Lions-Green Bay Packers closed in the 42-43 range. Ticketholders had to feel great about their side through three quarters with the score 17-3. Then both teams started moving the ball and putting more points on the board. The Lions’ inability to score touchdowns in the red zone kept hope alive for under enthusiasts until the final seconds of a 30-10 game.

And when Brett Hundley’s pass into the end zone with zeros on the clock fell incomplete, it should have been over it. It wasn’t. For some reason, an official called pass interference on the meaningless play, giving the Packers an untimed down to score the cosmetic score. They converted, of course, to push the total to 47 and change the winning side.

Scott Van Pelt, who never lets a bad beat go unnoticed, alluded to the nonsense while launching the post-game SportsCenter.

But you know what? By focusing on the “bad beat” we accept a negative world view. Instead let’s think of those who had the over last night and were pleasantly surprised by their good luck. Sports wagering is nothing if not a yin and a yang, a zero-sum karmic experience designed to highlight the absurdity of the human condition.