Six Reasons Why Underdogs Are the Smart Bet in the NFLWritten by Wunderdog
Underdog or favorite? It’s a choice we make 16 times per week during NFL regular season. While there are certainly times when favorites warrant our attention, my experience tells me that betting underdogs is best way to make money in NFL. Here are six reasons why you should pay special attention dogs this NFL season.1. NFL Parity The NFL has made great strides to achieve rough equality among teams. It has succeeded. Just look at these SuperBowl teams from past several years: St. Louis in 2000, Baltimore in 2001, New England in 2002, Tampa Bay in 2003, and Carolina last year. None of these teams were supposed to make it that far but they all did and many won, despite losing records year before. Unlike college game, any given team can win on Sunday in NFL. Why not get some points to boot? 2. A Win is a Win Again, unlike in College, there is no need to blow-out a team. Favorites that get up early don't typically run up score in NFL. It doesn’t serve a purpose and in most cases, coaches would rather not embarrass their opponent and/or risk injury to their stars. In NFL, big leads often dwindle, with underdogs covering late in game. 3. The Rodney Dangerfield Effect Underdogs don't get any respect! They don't get it from public, sometimes leading to higher than deserved spreads. More importantly, they don't get it from their opposition. Good teams can sometimes take bad teams lightly (especially if players and coaches minds are on other things, like next week's tougher opponent). Research and an understanding of historical trends can reveal great situations in which underdogs are poised for an upset. 4. The Public Can't Help Itself The average bettor loves popular teams (favorites), oftentimes pushing lines unreasonably high. We saw it during 90’s with Dallas and San Francisco. In fact, almost every week, with right research, you can spot teams that should be favorites but are getting points against a popular team that has been installed as a favorite due to public "bandwagon effect.” For example, last year Kansas City visited Cincinnati in week 10. The Chiefs had won nine straight and seemed invincible. In hindsight, Cincinnati was easy underdog pick. Kansas City’s defense was ranked 25th in league at time. Cincinnati was on a roll having won 3 of their last four games and Rudi Johnson was coming into his own. Cincinnati had emotional edge and nothing to lose by taking a shot at an undefeated team they knew they could beat. However, public couldn’t get over Kansas City’s success and spot this situation.
| | Decline of the American Black Athlete in SportsWritten by Gary Whittaker
It has been almost 60 years since Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, and now blacks dominate Major League Baseball. Even so, blacks were kept out of more “intellectual” positions or sports. In NFL, Quarterback was a tough position to crack. Willie Thrower is on record as first black to start an NFL game, but it was one time only. It took 15 years before history repeated itself in AFL, and Warren Moon to path way for McNabb, McNair and Vick who are built in same mold. In NBA, Blacks began to take over league at around same time ratings and attendance figures dropped. While it was very politically correct to credit Johnson along with Larry Bird for league’s revival, Magic would have been just another line in long list of talented black ball player had he not had a white rival. When Olympics opened door for professional athletes in 1992, US sent over THE DREAM TEAM. On that team you had 11 of best NBA players (only Mullin and Stockton where white), and 1 college throw in. That team, and next 2 won gold easily. The US became so cocky, that it thought it could send of a rooster of any black kid, and win gold just as easily. Maybe white men can’t jump, but they can damn sure reach gold with their shooting, so Americans had to settle for Bronze. And they were lucky to get away with anything. They took such a beating that they will have to redo their entire image. If there is one thing I can guarantee, it is that they will not be called Dream Team for 2008 Olympics and that they will go back to having a few white players. The 90’s continued to be great for black athletes as Tiger Woods emerged to become most dominant golfer of modern age. Considering that at time Tiger had emerged as a professional, many black Americans were still not even allowed to play at courses he was wining on. From 1997 to 2002 (okay, 98 was an off year), people were not asking if he was going to break all of Hogan’s and Nicklaus’ records, but when, or what could stop him. According to movie, “Undercover Brother”, white women are black man’s kryptonite. That appears to be what happened to Tiger since his career tanked after he married his Swedish bombshell girlfriend. If Tiger cannot recover his old form, he may in fact be remembered as more of an Arthur Ashe, as a great player who broke a barrier, rather than broke records.
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