True Story

Way back in March, I broke my usually ironclad sports-only rule to take on something Peter King wrote that week in his MMQB column for SI.com.  I'm not going to link to the post, because it was off-topic then and non-topical now, but it's the starting point for a longer story I'd like to tell today.

I began that post with a line apologizing for poaching another blogger's turf, in which I linked to this item from Gabe.  You'll remember the controversy he discusses quite well:

Quote of the Week II
“I just want to be able to win and get back to the Super Bowl.”
–Philadelphia cornerback Asante Samuel, who got $20 million guaranteed in a six-year, $57 million contract with the Eagles on Friday.

If that’s what was most important, then why didn’t Samuel stay with New England? Does he, or his agent, really think the Eagles have a better shot to get back to the Super Bowl than the Patriots in the next two or three years?

Gabe gamely attacked the point, which cause a friend to email me the following:

On that note, I forgot to mention that I do agree with King’s comment regarding Asante Samuel, which your fellow blogger trashed.  If you disagree that his better chance to win would have been to stay with the Pats, I will offer you an even-up wager as to whether the Pats or Eagles have more success over the next 3 seasons.  I would propose a bet based on most Super Bowl wins over the next 3 years, with a tiebreaker of most total wins in that period (regular season plus playoff).  I’ll obviously take the Pats.  I think that the absurdity of that bet answers the question.  It’s not a knock on the Eagles, but it’s a no-brainer bet to take the Pats even-up against virtually every other franchise in the NFL.  Pats - Colts even up I would have to think about.

My response:

[T]hree years is too long for any good bet.  Twenty bucks says the Eagles go at least as far into the playoffs next year as the Pats.  New England has serious roster issues.

Not sure what I meant at the time about roster issues, but the wager was accepted, then mostly forgotten until the season started, when -- within about eight minutes -- things looked pretty good on my end of the action.  Fast forward to November 25th, however, and things were not so pretty:

Derek, our $20 bet is solely based on advancement to the higher playoff round, correct?  So if the Pats have a better record than the Eagles but both teams miss the playoffs, it’s a push?

My response:

Very nice way of asking that question.  Yes, I will soon owe you 20 bucks.

He was nice enough to throw in a "well maybe the Pats won't make it" line, but yeah, it didn't look good.

What a difference a month makes.