Gary Mercer decided that if he had to watch his favorite team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, lose all the time, he might as well make some money from it.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the longtime Pirates fan bet $20 against the Bucs for every game this season as part of an experiment to see if he would profit off his team’s failures. He even kept a detailed spreadsheet of his progress.
Mercer hardly ever got even money on his wager — Vegas bookmakers almost always made the Pirates underdogs.
But after 162 games, of which the Pirates won just 57, Mercer made $324.34 — an over 10 percent return on his $3,240 investment.
At least one Pirates fan can say he had fun this season.
