Money can’t buy you love, but you can love making money. The Indy Sportsbook is here for the latter, whether you’re looking to finance that pricey Valentine’s Day dinner or are just trying to feel something again.
But before we unveil our upcoming picks, we’ll recap the most important holiday in February: the Super Bowl. Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, and Rihanna all had elite performances, and controversial officiating and an anticlimactic conclusion shouldn’t tarnish those efforts. The NFL may be rigged after all, but the money won and lost on Sunday was all too real. The Indy Sportsbook was horrified to lose the coin toss (who could have predicted tails?) but then enjoyed a mediocre split of bets that broke about even, unsurprising given our lack of actual insight.
We were right that Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni would be shown first during the anthem, that AJ Brown would have 70 or more yards and a touchdown, and that Jackson Mahomes would post two TikToks. We were shocked that Andy Reid did not eat or mention a cheeseburger the entire game, and Jalen Hurts was only one tantalizing yard away from having exactly 69 yards rushing. In regards to news that Harvard students may care more about, the price of Bitcoin fell, a bet which held no stakes for us. The game concluded with an act of blasphemy, as Mahomes thanked his teammates before he thanked God in his MVP speech.
These seemingly random occurrences dictated the exchange of billions of dollars, and the Indy hopes our previous article helped you pay for at least a couple loads of laundry. Our way-too-early prediction for next season’s superbowl is an Eagles’ revenge win at +900.
The NFL is the flagship of American sports, and it is now sadly gone. If you still feel that little tug to take a risk, it’s probably not the beginning of a gambling addiction. Probably. The good news is that the NBA and Champions League are both about to enter the crux of their seasons, offering lots of investment opportunities.
Given our fleeting-at-best expertise, the Indy Sportsbook recommends placing only the most enjoyable bets to watch. If you’re a fan of soccer—or just really bored in your 3pm GENED—the knockout stages of the Champions League, the biggest annual European soccer tournament, begin this week. The first round features blockbuster matchups including PSG vs Bayern Munich and Liverpool vs Real Madrid, a rematch of last year’s final. Soccer gambling is some of the most entertaining, as bets seem winnable for longer and momentum can change in an instant due to the low scoring nature of the game itself. What’s better than spending 89 minutes of a two hour seminar waiting for that single winning goal?
Entertainment aside, we think PSG and Real Madrid will both advance to the next round. The first leg is away for each side, giving better odds with Real Madrid at +195 and PSG at +160. We especially like the Real Madrid bet, as Liverpool is in relative shambles and Real Madrid’s experienced roster shouldn’t be too daunted playing at Anfield. Those aren’t the only matchups, but we don’t know enough about Belgian Soccer to give a take on Club Brugge.
Back to our comfort zone in American sports, the NBA is the only good league playing for a long time—we are never writing about baseball. With such a long basketball regular season, games can become a little boring for fans without skin in the game. But who wants to bet on skilled shooting, or have an assist bet rest in the hands of other players? Instead, pick a player to have more than a certain number of rebounds and enjoy. Any shot could bounce to them at any moment, offense or defense, making the rebound bet one of the most entertaining to watch live.
While we hope that some rebound bets can add a little fun to random post-p-set Tuesday nights, it doesn’t beat watching in-person—let alone an in-person rebound bet. The Cambridge bubble can make one forget that we have arguably the best team in the league a few T stops away, and everyone should try to get the discounted student tickets and go see a Celtics game.
This brings us to the one bet that should be on the mind of every Harvard student, Celtics +325 to win the NBA finals. We have yet to enjoy a championship parade as undergrads, a privilege that was once considered an entitlement to 21st century Harvard students. The entire student body has a monumental college experience hanging in the balance, resting in Jayson Tatum’s hands. If not this season, when? If not the Celtics, who? Bet your board plus, your tuition, or even just some hope, but buy in on Boston.
McGavock Cooper ‘24 (mcgavockcooper@college.harvard.edu) could face a lifetime ban from NCAA competition if he ever gambles on sports.