Every gambler that has ever placed a wager wants to be Scott Berry. Who is Scott Berry? He is the fortunate St. Louis Blues fan that happened to put $400 down on the Blues back in January when they were terrible.
Back then, they didn’t look like a team that had a prayer to make the playoffs let alone win the Stanley Cup. The odds on them to do it reflected this perceived reality, +25000. While odds like that would deter most fans from putting down more than $10, Berry went ahead with $400—which, with their win in Game Seven earned him a $100,000 payout.
Now, some have called him foolish for not selling his ticket or hedging in order to make sure he won something. But he had his reasons (via ESPN):
“I feel like I’m in this with the team, and I don’t want to lay any of it off. I put the bet down in January for $400 to win $100,000. That was the bet. … I’m very superstitious and don’t want to ruin any juju.”
Most of the time, faith such as Berry’s doesn’t pay off. Most of the time, when teams are longshots like the Blues were in January, those teams continue to flounder and don’t make the playoffs. There have been times when underdogs have made epic turnarounds like the Blues did. But those occurrences are rare.
However, the beauty in them is that it is extremely difficult to predict them. The Blues didn’t look like they had it in them back in January so what’s to say one longshot should be ignored over another? Are there any fans should be considering?
- Odds to win next World Series
- Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, and Texas Rangers +5000
- Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates +10000
- Seattle Mariners +25000
- Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, and Toronto Blue Jays + 50000
- Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins +100000
- Odds to win next Super Bowl LIV
- Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, New York Jets, and Tennessee Titans +5000
- Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers +6600
- Arizona Cardinals +8000
- Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Redskins +10000
- Miami Dolphins +12500
- Odds to win next NCAAF National Championship
- Auburn, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Washington, Wisconsin +5000
- Miami, Mississippi State +6600
- USC, Utah, Virginia Tech +10000
- Iowa, Missouri, UCF +15000
- Kentucky, Syracuse +25000
- Odds to win next NBA Championship
- Sacramento Kings +5000
- Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic +6600
- Memphis Grizzlies +8000
- Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards +10000
Of course, picking out a legitimate longshot is like beauty—it is in the eye of the beholder. Every team with long odds has them for a reason. But, occasionally, the stars align for some of these teams and they do something great.
So—any good longshots?
Cases could be made for a few teams in each sport—but only if things go their way. The stars would have to align along with a few of the planets. Just ask a diehard fan and they’ll tell you how it can happen.
