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Pointed observation Las Vegas odds-makers rain of Patriots' paradePosted: Wednesday January 23, 2002 4:00 PM
So, the good burghers of New England awakened on Monday morning, still warm and comfortable and fuzzy from that winter wonderland morality play Saturday night in Foxboro, Mass. The quarterback from nowhere still was invincible and the Oakland Raiders had been dispatched to some locked closet of bad dreams and the jolly story of the Patriots simply was growing bigger and bigger. A zip-a-dee-doo-dah bluebird sat on each and every shoulder. Until the number came in from Las Vegas. The Pittsburgh Steelers almost immediately were favored by eight points in this weekend's AFC title game and before a Pats fan could say, "Hey, what the heck..." the point spread was increased to nine. An awkwardly addressed envelope filled with a suspicious white powder couldn't have looked more ominous at every door. There are fools and chuckleheads scattered across the American landscape of experts -- Sam Donaldson say hello to Bill O'Reilly, say hello to Jerry Glanville and the crew -- but the Vegas oddsmakers are not among them. Ruthless, dispassionate, smart, these boys land on the money far more often than weathermen, film critics or forecasters for the next big thing on Wall Street. Nine points? A cold wind has replaced the snowy celebration in New England. Reality intrudes. A trip to the Super Bowl seems as illogical again as a trip to Mars. The only consolation is that the people in Philadelphia must feel more nervous. The Las Vegas number crunchers have the St. Louis Rams favored by 12 against the Eagles. Leigh Montville's commentaries appear regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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