A lopsided baseball bet

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

So, my sister-in-law and I were having a conversation the other day, and I said something or other to her that caused her to laugh bitterly at me. My response was, “Well, you won’t be laughing when the Dodgers win the World Series this year!”

Uh oh.

The conversation continued with me bragging about how my team is going to kick all kinds of ass this year. My SiL is not a huge sports fan, but she finds my undying love for the Dodgers to be pretty amusing, so she laid it out on the line. She proclaimed that if the Dodgers did go on to win it all this season, she would have the LA logo tattooed to the back of her shoulder*. I expressed doubt that she’d follow through on it, but she very solemnly stated that she would be held to it. And she’s not the sort to welch on a bet.

So the question became, what would I do in the (incredibly unlikely) event that I should lose? I didn’t have any brilliant ideas, so she suggested one. Should the Dodgers not fulfill their destiny, I will be required to attend an entire game at Chavez Ravine wearing…sigh…Angels gear.

I know, I know – the consequences of the bet seem completely unbalanced between the two of us. She gains a symbol of the Dodgers’ success, and I’d have to bear the scars of being a traitor for the rest of my life. But I’m a trooper that way, and I’ll hold up my end if necessary (it won’t be necessary).

As we both work for law firms, she was quick to draw up an affidavit with the background and the terms of the bet, and she had it officially notarized (in Dodger blue ink, no less). Lawyers at both firms are aware of the bet, and not a small number of them are rooting for me just because they want her saddled with that tattoo!

Wish me luck!

*I should point out that she’s making even less of a sacrifice than it already seems. She lived in LA all her life but has recently moved to a small town about 700 miles away, so she can, if she is too ashamed to admit her secret love for the Dodgers, tell people that it’s a symbol of missing home instead. Whatever. She’s getting off easy no matter what.

2

Go for it! The Vegas oddsmakers have the Dodgers at very favorable odds to go all the way this year.

Although, to be fair, you really should be required to go to every game in Angels gear. In the bleachers. :stuck_out_tongue:

3

What the hell’s wrong with you? Whose side are you on, anyway?

4

Oooh, scary. The rabid Dodger crazies have been known to pelt opposing fans with beach balls and douse them with spritzes of mineral water. Only between the third and seventh inning, of course.

5

A lopsided baseball bat

…and was wondering why anyone would want such a thing.

6

That is torture. You’ll have to sit through an entire game? What about the traffic? At least you’ll be all alone by the end of the 9th and won’t have to worry about being abused on the way to the car.

7

You know, I’d love to sit here and refute all the snippety comments about LA fans, I really can’t. I get to games 90 minutes early and leave when the game is early, so I get plenty of time (and get plenty irritated) with folks who show up in the 3rd of 4th inning and plop down with their food saying, “What’d I miss?!” :rolleyes:

8

Ah-HAH! See you admit it. You leave early! :smiley:

9

:smack:

Even if I were the sort, which I’m not, I will never forget being at this Opening Day game where so many fans left during the eigth inning. I ran into all kinds of people who were whining in the parking lot. “I missed it! I was in my car and heard it on the radio and tried to come back! Boohoo!” Losers. :slight_smile:

Point being that you just never know. Leaving early just to beat traffic is a lame excuse. I have friends who were at the four-homerun-ninth inning game in 2006 and left in the eigth. What is WRONG with people?

10

I have a buddy from Michigan (Tigers fan) and a buddy from Missouri (Cardinals fan). They were going to be playing in Detroit, and we were all going to be there for a wedding. They made a bet earlier about the outcome of some series, and the loser had to buy the winner a hat of their team, and wear it to the game we all went to. It was pretty funny watching my buddy, a die hard Tigers fan, “rooting” for the Cardinals. When the game was over, before he gave the hat to seal the bet, he poured beer all into and over it. It was a riot!

11

I figured it was something to do with aerodynamics. Couldn’t figure out what the LA tattoo thing was all about, kept waiting for the punchline, “Well, if Ron Cey uses a lopsided bat, then they’ll win for sure!”

Alas…

12

And, y’know, blinding the wives of Giants fans.

13

Me too. And then there’s all this stuff about betting and tattoos and STILL no lopsided baseball bat. It was very very confusing. I’m going to have to go lie down now.

14

Wow, I never realized there was such a sense of enmity between Angels and Dodgers fans - I realize they play in the same market, but I never thought the two teams fan-bases connected, really. I’d always thought it was Giants fans who were archenemies of Dodger fans.

15

What law firms?

I really REALLY hope you’re at mine, so I can watch you get DESTROYED after my New York Metropolitan Baseball Club wins it all this year.

16

[strikethru]Angels fans[/strikethru] People living in the Anaheim area of California of Los Angeles didn’t know they had a team until 2002.

17

What he said. The Giants will always be The Hated Ones to us Dodger fans, but the rivalry between the Dodgers and Mouseketeers has taken on a new life since Anaheim got their championship. What used to be a friendly get-together for the Freeway series where no one really cared who won suddenly became a fan battle where Angels fans were slithering out of the woodworks talking about how the Dodgers suck. And then the infamous Angels city name change came, which was the final straw for most of us.

So yes, believe me, showing any sign of Angels support is quite painful for me. Fortunately, I don’t believe it’ll happen. :slight_smile:

Oh, and Happy Scrappy – small law firms on both sides. I’d know if there was another Doper in my midst. :slight_smile: