Even if you’re not a sports gambler, we all know or can at least imagine how much fun it is to win a bet. But true gamblers know the real exhilaration is when you win a bet you had no business winning….i.e. the backdoor cover.
The 49ers vs Packers game tonight was a beautiful example of what makes the Backdoor Cover such an adrenaline rush, and a reminder why we wait for triple zeroes on the clock before we throw out our bet slip…. or in my case, delete the photo evidence of my bet from the library on my phone.
Let me set the scene for you: the over is 48.5 and the score is 31-3 at the start of the 4th Quarter. After putting together a strong drive, the 49ers failed to convert while going for it on 4th down on the 5 yard line. At that moment, I thought the over bet was dead; no way in a blowout game could there possibly be 15 points scored in the final 14 minutes of the game – at this point every play would be about running out the clock. As my wife likes to remind me, “Blowouts are the mortal enemy of the over.”
Fast forward to the 6 minute mark in the 4th quarter when the Packers find themselves once again in the Red Zone, and I find myself with a bit of hope left – a touchdown at this moment could quite possibly breathe some life into my bet that is otherwise dead in the water. However, in spite of their great drive, the Packers have to settle for a field goal – it’s now just 34-3. In my eyes, my bet is dead yet again and I turned the channel.
But a couple minutes later, something tells me to check the score and discover that somehow someway the 49ers have not only found the endzone (34-10!) but also managed to get the ball back. My bet is magically alive and Nick Mullens is 5 points away from one of the most improbable overs in recent memory. In what felt like the blink of an eye, the 49ers are on the goal line with only 4 seconds left in the game. One play and one yard – that’s all that’s between me and victory.
And then it happens. Jerick McKinnon takes the handoff and barrels into the end zone. He hits the over! This one play meant nothing to the game, and probably nothing to any of the players other than McKinnon. But for everyone out there that took the over, this should be the play Sportscenter plasters all over their media channels as the “Play of the Night”.
If sports has taught me anything, it’s that you can’t have an epic comeback if you aren’t down a lot. And while the feeling of your bet being dead in the 3rd Quarter is horrible….the feeling of it magically coming back to life is twice as amazing.
