Elimination

We've been eliminated from the pool.  The Giants watched RG3 pistol whip them and our units are gone.  Sports usually end with interviews so I'll interview myself, actually I'm imagining Suzy Kolber shoving a microphone in my face.

Q: How does it feel to be eliminated?

A: I'm disappointed that we're out, make no mistake about that.  I'm not angry and I certainly don't feel bitter in any way.  We lost fair and square.  Going into this we knew that being eliminated and losing our money was a possibility.

Q: Weren't you very confident that you would win?

A: Yes.  In order to succeed you must believe that you can.  I honestly believed that we could and would win, and it wasn't a false confidence because I wouldn't have entered if I didn't honestly believe we could win.

Q: Presupposing that you would be eliminated, are you surprised that it was this early?

A: Yes and no.  We could have held on for several more weeks - until the end of the season even, but when e got into the endgame we thought our best strategy was to go all-in with max bets and hopefully win a couple in a row to double up and give us some breathing room.  We could have bet small and died a slow death and held on but that seemed futile.  There are already people doing that.  Several people have had below 5000 for weeks and they are only delaying the inevitable.  The goal is to cash and we thought that being aggressive gave us the best possible chance.  When you get down to 10000 you are in serious trouble we thought.

Before putting the last bet on the Giants I scouted next week and didn't see anything that looked too appealing.  I have no regrets about going all in with the Giants.  I probably would have had regrets if we were eliminated betting on a bad team simply because our model spit them out.

Q: How would you rate the system you used?

A: Too soon to tell.  The answer to that requires a serious analysis of the bets we placed and I have no motivation to do that at this time.  However, I will say this about that.  Having an system, no matter what it is, is helpful because it helps to keep things more objective and your not just picking on whims, which I don't think would be a successful long term strategy.

Q: What would you do differently next time?

A: I would try and pick less losers.  Our final record was 113-99-5, so we had 53.3% winners.  I think that we started out too conservatively.  Just musing right now, if we conservatively worked our way up to 30000, then bet more aggressively, but if we fell to 20000 to be conservatively again - that might be something to consider, who knows.  I also think I would try and avoid more bad teams and loser coaches, it is frustrating to say -Why did we bet on Norv Turner? Or Jim Schwartz? Or some other dope.  Good teams and coaches come at a premium point spread so it's tough to say that though.  Being more judicious could be good or bad - you can't make 50K only wagering 10K, so there's no easy answers.  The best advice anyone could give is don't bet on the NFL, but if you do make sure it's money you can afford to lose.

Q: Are you upset about the money you lost?

A: Of course it's disappointing but that's gambling.  There is a definite feeling of satisfaction, or something honorable, knowing that people I know or people who I know know are going to walk away with the money, that some casino or other faceless person or corporation won't end up with my entry fee.  Well, I suppose they probably will eventually.

Q: How do you feel about the partnership with Mr. Pig?

A: Mr. Pig is one of my best buddies and the older we get the more people we seem to lose touch with.  This contest brought Mr. Pig into my life on pretty much a daily basis by talking to him directly, emailing, texting, or tweeting.  We had our disagreements, but anything that brings you closer to the people you care about is good.  The best part was strategizing and thinking together, sharpening our minds.  We created goodness in each other's lives and our own good was divided and increased.  We demonstrated our humanity to the highest degree - we used our reason and intellect to make predictions in a competition to prove our superiority, and we did the most human thing possible - we made an error.   We foolishly believed that we could make sense of and find order in the chaos.  Gambling on football is a microcosm of life and nobody can predict what is going to happen.

Q: So you're going to give up gambling on football?

A: I will never stop gambling on football because giving up doesn't suit me.  I always think that I can do better next time, just a few tweaks to my system and I'll have it right.  Using your mind, cultivating goodness in each other, taking risks, and never giving up - that's what life is all about.

Even if you break it down strictly to economics it was a great investment.  Going to the movies costs about $12, so per hour entertainment is $6.  $250 kept me entertained for 3 months, so that's not even $3 per day!

Q:  Last question, how are you going to fill the void and occupy your time?

A: Suzy, I love your hair, best hair on television.