The road to any Super Bowl championship is a difficult challenge itself, let alone when a team is the constant underdog. As I hosted a party for the Charger Wild Card playoff game last week, I invited family and close friends for a breakfast batch with my special homemade chilaquiles, chorizo, and Mexican style beans and rice. As we hovered over a decorative television with Charger memorabilia, the room was filled with constant cheers, cussing, and dog piles, as the Chargers scored, didn’t score, recovered fumbles, and picked off Andy Dalton several times. By the end of the game, the Chargers pulled an upset over the Cincinnati Bengals 27-10, despite being a seven point underdog.

Now, as a nine point underdog, the Chargers will travel to Denver to face the notorious Peyton Manning and the Broncos for the second round of playoffs. Manning has led his AFC west champion team to become one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history, as well as backed up by a solid, tenacious defense. The Broncos are not only the heavy favorite, but they are also expected to play in Super Bowl championship game, as they are the #1 seed in the AFC conference. Most experts believe the Chargers do not have a fighting chance.

Yet, the same experts believed the Baltimore Ravens did not have a chance when facing young stud, Colin Kaepernick, and the San Francisco 49ers in last year’s Super Bowl. And the same experts did not believe the New York Giants would defeat the almighty Tom Brady and the New England Patriots for a second time, the following year. Both the Ravens and Giants squeezed in as Wild Card contenders, just like the Chargers. Both the Ravens and Giants were constant underdogs, playing games away, throughout the course of their road to success and a Super Bowl Championship. More noted, both the Ravens and Giants were doubted with every game they played, and almost everyone believed that they could not pull off the impossible. Yet, they did.

What the hell does this have to do with craps? In the casino, despite being an advantage player, s/he is always the visiting team. The advantage player will always be doubted, criticized, and told that dice controlled is the impossible during live play. The advantage player is always the underdog against the unassailable casino, who will do everything in its power to bring down the advantage player, making sure the advantage player does not obtain his/her Super Bowl trophy. However, there are many advantage players, who have mathematically defined the odds of craps, bringing home the legendary Vince Lombardi prize.

This Sunday, when the underdog Chargers travel to Mile High Stadium, beware for history to repeat itself. Believe the impossible.

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