Shortly after getting out of the Navy, I returned home to Dallas to start school. The first job I got was as a waiter at a sports bar in Addison. Well, technically, the first job I got was at a baseball card shop that paid surprisingly well, but after three days they told me it wasn’t going to work out and I went home. I still have no clue what I did to get fired after three days, but I ended up ok in the end and I’m not entirely sure if that card shop is still in business or not. But I digress.
I had an absolute blast working at that sports bar. My coworkers were fun to hang around. The owner was an a-hole to just about everyone but he looked out for his people. And I never had to miss a sporting event because of work.
In fact, I was waiting tables the day that James Brown rolled left and found Derek Lewis wide open to convert on fourth down and seal Texas’ victory in the first ever Big 12 Championship game.
I cheered along with everyone else in the bar at that moment (even though I knew that meant at least one more season of John Mackovic) and then went and got them a round of drinks. That was the first of many gut punches UT would deliver to Nebraska over the years. But I digress.
Back in those days, there was no FanDuel or Bet MGM to be able to place bets online. Heck, there wasn’t an online (there was, but it was a very, very small number of people who had access to it and I wasn’t one of them).
If you wanted to bet on sports, you had to find a bookie. It turns out, a sports bar was a pretty easy place to find a bookie in those days and that was the first time I ever came across anyone like that.
I loved sports and as a waiter I had plenty of cash on hand so it was pretty natural to start placing some bets.
However, in doing so, I learned some very important lessons that have stuck with me from that time on.
First, don’t ever bet money that isn’t truly disposable income. It’s one thing to take money from your entertainment budget to bet with. I mean, if you want to gamble on sports as opposed to going to a movie. Fine. But if you need that money for gas, then you need to prioritize being able to drive home.
Second, I am never, ever, ever going to be able to make a living betting on sports. It turns out, predicting the outcome of a game is harder than it looks.
So today, I work for a living. I found a company that is willing to pay me money and provide benefits like health insurance, 401k and time off in exchange for my services.
It works for me.
And still, to this day, whenever I do dabble in sports gambling, I usually end up losing.
All of which to say … it’s time for me to make my 2024 season predictions. You can bookmark these and use them to make your own bets on the season. But don’t come whining to me if you end up losing because I just wrote 500 words explaining why you shouldn’t listen to me.
But since when have I ever let that stop me from spouting off? Let’s get to it.
2024 TEXAS LONGHORNS PREDICTIONS:
