Vegas Golden Knights and long shots

You've got to give it up to some guys, and gals. They're not afraid to put their money out there on long shots, REALLY long shots, in any particular sporting event.

Of course most times they lose.

And they get laughed at by their friends, coworkers, etc., for having placed such a foolish wager in the first place.

How many folks thought the rag-tag American hockey team could knock off the mighty Soviet Red Army back in the 1980 Olympics? Or Joe Willie's Jets defeating the formidable Colts in Super Bowl III? For that matter, go back less than a year. Did anybody you know think the Philadelphia Eagles had a prayer of becoming Super Bowl champions, especially after their starting QB went down? And besting Tom Brady in the Big Dance to do so?

But there were no doubt a few that placed bets on such things. And they hit it big, assuming they had the cajones to wager a sizable amount in the first place.

Sure, most who bet on such long-shots probably write it off as money long gone. Just a fling, for fun, because they can afford it. But ya never know how such things will turn out.

Enter this year's Las Vegas Golden Knights. A first year expansion team in the NHL. Only stocked by players other teams didn't "protect", a few draft choices, and free agents looking for a job, but not finding it elsewhere. Conventional wisdom dictated this would be another rag-tag team indeed.

The Stanley Cup? Get outta here. Those guys? Not a chance.

The odds-makers said so. The Knights were a 150:1 shot when the season started. As long as long shots can get.

But then something strange happened, and kept happening. Those pesky Knights kept winning games, way more than they were supposed to.

And look at them now. In the Western Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and holding a 2-1 series advantage over Winnipeg.

True, they're still six wins away from Lord Stanley's bauble, the Jets are mighty tough themselves, and the winner of the Washington/Tampa Bay series in the East will be no bargain either in the Finals -- if they get there. But they might.

And those folks that had the utter audacity to plop down, say, a C-note on Vegas winning the Cup, no longer look as fool-hardy as they did back in October of last year. They have a very real shot of that Franklin turning into 15 grand. Not exactly Trumpish money, but a decent chunk of change to be sure. $15K can pay for a big part of a kid's college education, or eliminate other debts, such as credit cards. Or a mighty nice down-stroke on a new car. A home improvement project. A year's bar tab. Lots of things.

So here's to those folks that took a flyer on the ultra-long shot Golden Knights before they'd even played their first game.

I hope their bets come in. How can you root against such people?

I wish I'd have been one of them. Just so things would be that much more exciting these days as the NHL playoffs progress.

But I was rooting for Vegas anyway. I love that town.