Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Badgers win 1 and lose 1

Friday, Sept. 6, 2002 | 9:24 a.m.

LAST WEEK ON VACATION IN UTAH, I received one of those telephone calls none of us want to hear. The patriarch of one side of my family, Bill Biesanz, had died back in Minnesota. Bill, the last of our family who saw extended combat in the Pacific as a naval fire control officer assigned to the Marines and Army, was always considered a special man. He was our hero both as a combat officer and in civilian life.

Because it was Labor Day weekend, there was a good chance to get a seat on an airliner going to Minneapolis early Sunday morning. A seat on Northwest Flight 712 was obtained but I was informed the plane was filled to capacity. Upon arrival at the gate, I was surrounded by red shirts and sweaters. They were some of the Wisconsin fans going home from the game played with the Rebels Saturday night. You know the game the Badgers were leading 27-7 with 7 minutes and 41 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter when the lights went out and remained out.

The Badger fans hadn't had much sleep the night before because they were at the airport at least an hour before our flight time at 7. As a group they were mellow and great football fans who were happy with the outcome. That's the way it is in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa where fans start talking about next week's game immediately after a victory or loss. Some of the fans had held their annual family gathering in Las Vegas this year and made it the time for fun at the end of summer.

There was more than a little conversation that morning about the lights going out. One of the men asked me what I did in Las Vegas and joking I told him that the power company was my employer. Most of the people laughed but a few of them didn't and complained about not being paid for their winning tickets. They had bet on their Badgers and with the game ending with a 20-point lead, they expected to be paid. They weren't.

"Don't you think we should have received our winnings?" one asked me. I replied that because it was considered a completed game it made good sense they should have been paid. The rule that gamblers only get paid if at least 55 minutes of the football game had been played was something new to me. Certainly, without a miracle, there was no chance for the Rebels to close the point spread even if they had played a fifth quarter.

One gentleman mentioned the possibility of a conspiracy and about that time I regretted having joked about working for the power company. Of course, it was a lot safer than having told them I worked in a sports book. Nevertheless, the Badger fans were congenial and talking about the game coming up this week. When boarding the plane it didn't take long for a majority of them to doze off and catch a few winks of sleep after a long night in Las Vegas. Still in the back of their minds many were trying to justify not being paid for the bets they had placed on the victorious Badgers. I sure didn't have a reasonable answer for them that morning and I still don't several days later.

Sportswriter Eric Anderson in the La Crosse Tribune explained the situation clearly when writing, "But many fans were also in the dark when it came to a state gambling rule that left some a little less happy a few hours later.

"When the game was called with 7 minutes, 41 seconds remaining and UW declared a 27-7 victor, many of the Badgers faithful who had taken the opportunity to place bets on UW at local casinos figured they were double-winners: a win for their favorite team and some extra money in their pockets.

"However, a rule followed by all sports books in Nevada requires that 55 minutes must be played for a college or professional football game to be considered official. If a game does not meet the time standard all bets are refunded."

Anderson did an excellent job explaining the situation in an article headed "Don't bet on it. Gambling doesn't pay off for UW fans after lights go out in Las Vegas." So everybody, even me, should now understand this rule in our sports books? Yes, but this doesn't mean that the rule is either fair or shouldn't be changed. If the game is declared official, then the final score should determine if a bettor wins or losses. Very simply, the present rule stinks.