INDIANAPOLIS — Last July, Troy Saunders placed a $100 bet on the Cincinnati Bengals winning the Super Bowl. At the time, the odds were nearly impossible, with a payout of more than $15,000.
“So I’ve placed this bet a couple of years in a row now to try and get my wife interested a little bit more in the Bengals,” Saunders said. “I never thought it was going to happen. They were supposed to finish last place in their division, last place in the conference.”
Months later, the team is now one win away from being Super Bowl champions.
“It kept getting more and more real. I had to pinch myself a couple of times and realize that it might actually happen,” he said.
Saunders said he is a diehard Bengals fan with memorabilia around his house, but his wife Kirstin grew up cheering for the Colts. She said this bet has her changing her mind.
“I know I’ll be rooting all the way through for them,” she said.
The Indianapolis couple said, at first, the gamble was just for fun, but now it would also be a blessing for their family.
“When I originally placed this bet back in July, it was a good time. Things were going well,” Saunders said.
Then in November, Saunders lost his job due to COVID-19. He was working with a federal student loans company. The news came just three days before his son, Jordan, was born.
“Fate may have it that this $15,000 would come through at the perfect time,” he said. “We would definitely buy a lot of diapers and formula, that’s for sure.”
As expected, the couple has some pregame jitters.
“I’m nervous, like I am playing in the game. Every day I think I have to eat the right meals like the players do and do the right luck things every day,” Saunders said.
With a lot riding on this game, the family plans to watch it from home with their newborn.
“We had a couple of options to go somewhere to watch the game, but with this kind of money on the line, $15,000 for a $100 bet, I want to really be able to focus on the game,” Saunders said.
“No distractions,” Kirstin added.