Chapter 17 Rally Round the Team—As Long as it Wins and Covers the Spread

This chapter examines the mind set of student fans who bet on college sport teams. The author describes betting on college campuses is just as bad as drinking and drug abuse. Gambling has been an overseen issue and not many studies have been done to determine what should be done.

A former bookmaker, with ties to organized crime explains that college kids bet everything. Usually the bettor is a clever frat boy who gets pumped up by betting on the teams. It is socially acceptable and many people think nothing of it. But it’s risky and can cost a person’s life financially and even more.

There are more than just students betting on games. It is also the athletes who are involved. “More than 5% of football and men’s basketball players have either given inside information to gamblers, bet on games in which they played or [have] shaved points. Also, 72% of athletes had gambled in various other forms.” This shows that athletes might miss a jump shot or the quarterback might throw an interception just to gain some cash.

This is a loss of respect for the sport, the athlete and the coach. Students and athletes gambling is one more evil caused by today’s American culture, and when the media and the public believe that games are fixed, the popularity of the sport declines. Betting on games undermines school spirit and many students all they care about is their bets. There have been games where fans were upset because the team didn’t cover the spread and booed the players.

It is very interesting to me when I read about issues that come from the influences of sport. The way people act because of sports is sometimes unbelievable. What people do for money and to win, for “fun,” and the way sports has corrupted society. Betting is an up and coming concern and just like alcohol, it seems everyone is involved. But the funny thing is that the money the students are betting is their parents’ money.