Would You Rather Lose Your Bet by Halftime or On The Last Play of The Game?

College football is back, and I’m ready to have my heart ripped out of my chest every week as I wager my hard-earned money on kids who aren’t even legally old enough to drink—and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I woke up this morning with the traditional Monday Scaries: I checked my bank account, called myself a loser, brushed my teeth, and went to work like a man. I love lying to myself to make the mistakes I made over the weekend—like spending $400 at Old Crow—feel insignificant.

You know how easy it is to convince yourself on a Monday morning that you’re not going out on Friday? Anyone can do it. But this week, it’s different. There’s no lying to yourself. Everyone knows they’ll be betting on college football, for better or for worse. Hopefully, everyone reading this sweeps the board, but let’s be real—most of us are going to lose. Just like in actual sports, whether you lose by 1 or by 20, a loss is a loss, which begs the question: would you rather lose your bet by halftime or on the last play of the game?

Here's my case for both instances:

Lose by Halftime

I remember when I was a kid, I had a band-aid hanging off my elbow for two days, and I refused to take it off because every time I tried, it hurt too much. So instead, I just let it hang. Then one day, my dad came home from work, saw his son walking around with a band-aid barely clinging to his elbow, and decided to do something about it. He snuck up behind me, ripped it off, and I didn’t even notice. That’s what it feels like when your bet is dead at halftime. Just get it over with and get back to the drawing board.

Sure, you’re going to be hesitant to pull the trigger on another game, especially when the bet you just placed is dead before the second half starts. But it’s better to know you lost your bet early rather than finding out two minutes before the next game on the board starts. This is why 4:05 start times should be outlawed in the NFL—how do you expect us to fire on a game when we still don’t know the results of our 1:00 games? Therefore, it's better to know than anxiously wait out a losing ticket.

Lose on The Last Play of The Game

Losing on the last play of the game is like having to put your dog down. It’s one of the worst feelings in the world. I get choked up every time I think about it. But it’s part of life. You can’t let the pain of loss take away from all the happiness your dog gave you. The same goes for losing on the last play of the game. Yes, it hurts, but it hurts because you were close. It hurts because at one point during the game, you were on top of the world. It hurts because your head was in the right place, but the ball bounced the other way. You were practically the 12th man on the field, sweating out every single play. That’s why it hurts.

And if I’m being honest, that’s what I look for when I bet. We all love a sweat-free winner, but unless you’re betting life-changing money, we bet for the ride. I don’t want to be dead at halftime. I want to be on the edge of my seat, fighting for my life. And even if it doesn’t go my way, at least I was there for the ride.