This week's Last Week Tonight had John Oliver dive into the concerns surrounding sports betting.
Interesting stuff.
I haven't been watching DOTA 2 lately, but I get the feeling that one reason the PBA stopped live streaming their games might be related to these issues. Meanwhile, I only catch MPBL games through YouTube live streams. If you check the chat during those, it's not just kids who are into the outcomes—foreigners are, too.
We see influencers and models pop up in ads, pushing the idea that gambling is cool. I even thought about checking out some of these betting sites, but laziness got the better of me—and maybe that's for the best. I have enough to worry about without stressing if Anthony Edwards will drop 30 points against a sub-.500 team.
I'm not here to preach. I’m not the guy to judge anyone for how they live their life. But if there’s one type of sports betting I’m invested in, it's making sure my fantasy teams perform. Right now, I have three teams in the playoffs across my fantasy leagues. One already got knocked out, thanks to LeBron James picking the wrong time to get injured. I should have dropped Cam Thomas months ago, but I didn’t. Sometimes it feels safer to keep a player benched rather than risk regretting it later. Turns out, that choice had its own drawbacks, but that’s the kind of gamble I’m comfortable with.
Sure, I’m eyeing the pot money, but it’s also about strategy. I’ve always been more interested in being the mind behind the plays rather than the player on the court. One of my favorite Korean dramas is Hot Stove League because it’s all about managing and strategizing. And while most might pick Moneyball as their go-to sports strategy film, mine is Jerry Maguire. Sure, he’s an agent, but his hustle to elevate Rod Tidwell’s career shows the same kind of strategic thinking. It’s like Hot Stove League too, where the manager turns a last-place team into champions by knowing what his players can and can’t do.
To me, gambling is luck. But fantasy sports? That’s stats and strategy. That's where I find satisfaction. Sports betting doesn't quite give me that same thrill.