Craig Sager, the legendary TNT sideline reporter, has placed a $1,000 bet on the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series every year since 1981. His son, fellow broadcaster Craig Sager II, shared an excerpt from Sager’s book that revealed this anecdote on Twitter today.
Despite his 35 years of losing bets, Sager mentions he still bet on his beloved Cubs to win the 2016 World Series in Dec. 2015. “You gotta think positive,” Sager writes in his book, Living Out Loud, Sports, Cancer, and the Things Worth Fighting For.
Of course, the Cubs finally won the World Series Wednesday night, defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in extra innings. It had been 108 years since the Cubs had won the World Series, but Sager never lost faith.
So, let’s do the math: Sager lost $35,000 on his bets (not counting inflation or opportunity cost). This year, the Cubs were 4-to-1 favorites to win the title. Accordingly, he won $4,000, making his balance negative $31,000. Still, it’s gotta feel good to put a dent in that total.
Sager has had a long, public battle with cancer. He announced this March his leukemia had returned. This year, he received the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPYS.
The Cubs winning the World Series must have put a huge smile on his face. Sager threw out a ceremonial first pitch at a June Cubs game (pictured above). “This baseball team, this place, was the touchstone by which I could measure my whole life,” Sager wrote of the moment in his book.
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