Some things just march on inexorably, as we all know by now: Death, taxes, sports betting. And so it is that the morning after the Green Bay Packers (a team owned, it’s worth noting for anyone in the District, by its fans) won Super Bowl 45, the betting line came out for who will win the next one, set to be played in Indianapolis next year —unless labor issues cancel or postpone the NFL season.
The early odds don’t look so good for Redskins fans. Online sports book Bodog puts the team’s chances at 50-1; that’s not quite as bad as the truly dismal Buffalo Bills (100-1 underdogs), but it puts the home team firmly in the bottom tier of the league as far as bookies are concerned. Of course, Bodog is also giving 7-2 odds that there won’t be any pro football played at all next year. Washington City Paper doesn’t typically give gambling tips, but considering there could be $12 billion on the line, we’d probably bet they’ll find a way to get a game or two in. If betting on sports online were legal, that is—which, for now at least, it’s not in D.C. (Some sites put the Redskins’ chances at 60-1, worse odds than Bodog is giving.)
Of course, the week before this year’s Super Bowl, Redskins owner Dan Snyder had something besides football games on his mind. Meanwhile, Super Bowl 46 will mark the 20th anniversary of the last time the Redskins hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.