As the final score of the soccer game remained on the scoreboard, the coach of the Whiteland team would have to face a little humiliation.
Senior John Thompson, who plays soccer, decided to bet on the game outcome. He bet against Mr. Daniel Appelbaum, a former GHS teacher who now teaches and coaches for Whiteland.
“Appelbaum made a bet with me. He used to coach the girls, and now he coaches the boys at Whiteland, and I saw him while we were playing at a tournament for a club. My friend and I made a bet. If we won and beat Whiteland during the school season. He had to hang up a Greenwood shirt that was signed by me and my brother in his office. But if we lost, we had to wear Whiteland shirts the next day,” Thompson said.
What makes a bet worth it is the reward.
“We did end up with a victory over Whiteland. I did not gain anything that I could touch from it, but instead, I got the feeling of victory. Now, he has to deal with the fact that he lost to Greenwood after he was telling us he was going to destroy us. Now, he has a reminder of that every day. I do not regret my bet as it went the way I wanted it to go. And, of course, a victory over Whiteland,” Thompson said.
While betting on their own sports can be rewarding, some students prefer fantasy football, drafting players, and earning points based on their players’ performances.
“In our fantasy football league, we always do some sort of bet for the loser. Last year, we had someone do the milk mile, and that was horrible. This year, the loser has to spend 24 hours in a Waffle House, but every waffle they eat is one hour off of their time,” sophomore Connor Eckstein said.
Many fantasy football leagues created by friends tend to punish those who finish bottom of their league.
“For a fantasy football league I was in, the loser had to wear a dog shock collar for a day controlled by the league members, and I was really close to being in last for the year, but I ended up avoiding the punishment. Last year, the loser had to run the Indy Mini marathon, which is 13.1 miles, but I ended up winning the league and avoided the punishment again,” junior Aiden Worgess said.
Alternatively, instead of fantasy football, some people prefer to bet on the game itself, such as on statistics or the halftime performance.
“During some sports games that I watch with friends, we often give small bets to liven up the game. They allow for a friendly competition among my friends. For the Super Bowl every year, I print off these sheets with a bunch of bets on them, but instead of the usual stat-based bets, they are more fun-based ideas, like what will be the first song for the halftime performance,” Worgess said.
But for some students, it is not the love of their sport that causes them to take bets but rather their love interests.
“I made a bet with a friend, and while we were playing on my virtual reality system, he was talking about his love life. Then he posed the bet that he could get a girlfriend’s number in a month. However, he did not, and he lost the bet. This happened months ago, and I did not even get the money we bet out of it. I kind of regret it. It was just strange, but I don’t feel guilty about it; it just wasn’t even worth it,” junior Johnathan Chelf said.
