During a visit today to my doctor, we got to talking about the Super Bowl. Turns out he is a really big Chiefs fan.
He told me that two days before the big game, he’d told a friend over the phone “I predict the Chiefs to win by three points.” It was, he said, a missed opportunity.
“Do you mean,” I asked, “that you thought you should bet on the game?”
“Well yes, except that I never gamble.”
“Probably just as well,” I said. “You know how it goes. If you had actually bet on the Chiefs, they wouldn’t have won. That’s how the Universe works.”
“Yeah,” he said, “I agree. That is indeed how the Universe works.”
So I said “Just think. If you had gone through with that bet, the Chiefs would probably have lost, and many people would have been sad. And it would have been your fault.”
“Yes,” he agreed, “it would have been my fault.”
“But look at the bright side,” I added, “nobody would ever have realized it was your fault.”
“Except you.”