FanProphet

My Worst Ever NFL Experience

In one of my four drafts this week on DraftMix.com I selected the Dallas Cowboys defense in hopes that they would first of all stop AP, maybe record a sack or two against the inexperienced Tarvaris Jackson, and potentially dominate considering they had just been exposed and exploited by the New England Patriots. They played well and besides an opening Adrian Peterson dominated drive they controlled the game by allowing a modest 197 net yards, recording three sacks, forcing a fumble, and holding Minnesota to only one offensive touchdown. However, the surprise of the day and a play that brought back a handful of awful memories came in the 3rd quarter when Patrick Watkins returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown and according to CBS, the first of it’s kind for the Cowboys since 1983.

I remember it like it was just yesterday. No, not the 1983 return, but the MNF block field-goal return for a touchdown that eventually convinced me that I could not and will not ever win a dime betting professional sports. For those of you who currently bet football and have bet football for awhile you should remember the Steelers going into Jacksonville as a 3 point underdog in this 1997 match-up. Sure, it was ten years ago but for most avid sports bettors or gamblers we undoubtedly remember some of the worst beats of our lives with vivid detail, but never the lucky wins.

I will never forget this play because it really was the difference between betting sports or never betting sports for the rest of my life. The Steelers were down 2 points with basically no time left on the clock. The line on the game was the Steelers +3 and if they make the field goal or if the miss the field goal it doesn’t matter because either way the clock will expire and I already have the game won. In other words I can turn the game off and get ready for work for the following day. Then the worst happens! I mean, how many times can a person lose a bet in the last seconds of a game with a game winning field goal on the line when you already have the game won. A botched snap would’ve been fine. Tony Romo did it in last years playoffs, Dallas lost, and we called it a day. Or, how about a missed game winning field goal; multiple teams have already done that this season. I guess it would’ve been too easy for me to go to bed and sleep comfortably knowing that I would pick up a stuffed white envelop the following day with a significant amount of money inside.

Anything could have happened except for the unthinkable; Norm Johnson sets up to attempt this last second game winning field goal and the Jacksonville Jaguars and some guy by the name of Hudson returns it 58 yards for a touchdown with :00 on the clock. I didn’t need a shrink but this game caused me to suffer the worst loss of my life and to this day it still brings up gut wrenching stomach pangs and disturbing memories. Think about it, how bad can it get? Is there a worse way to lose when you already have the game won? If it would’ve happened with time on the clock or in the 3rd quarter like it did in Dallas yesterday I would have shook it off as part of the game knowing that I still had a chance to win. However, it happened with zero’s on the clock and convinced me that their is no way to win betting professional sports. Thanks Cowboys you helped me compete in my fantasy league but at the same time you brought back on of my most awful football memories to date.