Our shadowy Birflatt Boy is quick to respond to the rotten question of whether it is ever Ok to bet on your team losing …
M Salut’s article on betting against your team – click here – prompted Birflatt to think of other dilemmas that anyone could potentially face by doing nothing worse than supporting their team.
Now Birflatt wouldn’t condone anyone betting against Sunderland in any circumstances other than those where the wager is intended to cover the costs of an away trip down to London, for example, and where the bitter taste of defeat is accentuated by the trip costing half a week’s wages.
A few seasons back when Peter Crouch was playing for Liverpool, they were drawn to play Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Crouch’s Dad is a season ticket holder at Chelsea and has been for many years. Ahead of the game he was asked by the media what his hopes were for the two games. I can’t remember his answer. Mr Crouch Snr probably gave the reporters a fairly anodyne response which avoided coming down on either side of the fence. I hope he did anyway.
The answer is less important than the question, which would have been better had it remained unasked. How can someone, well anyone respond in a way that will not have dire consequences. A choice between your son, or your club? I would not dare ask myself the same question.
It’s the classic “Have you stopped beating your grandmother?” type question where both “Yes” or “No” is equally incriminating.
It reminds me of the recent reports concerning Pakistan’s blasphemy laws where the blasphemer’s comments themselves are so blasphemous that repetition would lead to allegations of blasphemy for the accuser.
The ultimate paradox, but a lesson to those prepared to ask unwise questions about the opinion of another.
Some things are better left unsaid Salut, leaving us all to ponder the moral of the case and how we might best deal with it ourselves. Telling the trust can sometimes be dangerous.