Wally Pipp’ed Without Being Wally Pipp
The title of this story should be “Wally Pipp’ed without being Wally Pipp”—but to keep to the hockey theme, we’ll call it “The Unraveling of My Hockey Dream.”
I had always loved hockey, and when I discovered an opening for a camera operator with the local amateur team, I jumped at the chance. I believed that showing up early and doing the job would secure my spot—unlike Wally Pipp, who lost his position to Lou Gehrig for taking a day off. I was determined to avoid a similar fate.
The media relations guy welcomed me warmly, and I made it a point to arrive early every time, pouring my heart into each game. To feel like a true part of the team, I ordered their hat and shirt, ie. merchandise with the team logo. You could not buy them from the team directly but had to do so online from a third-party store. Little did I know that this small investment would lead to a nightmare. The store’s communication was poor; they insisted I download the “Shop” app to track shipping. Long story short, downloading that particular app—again, for the purpose of tracking the shipping—wrecked my phone, costing me $140 for a new one. By the time my gear finally arrived, my excitement had soured into frustration.
Then came the gut punch. Two weeks after I had received the merchandise, the media relations guy texted me, casually mentioning that the team management was bringing in a college student to take over the camera work. My heart sank. I had invested so much into this position, convinced that my dedication would pay off. Instead, I felt like a placeholder, just another face until someone else came along.
I couldn’t shake the words of a relative who had questioned my spending on the team’s merchandise: “You’re probably spending more than you’re making.” I had brushed it off at the time, thinking my passion justified the costs. But now, those words echoed in my mind, a bitter reminder of my misplaced priorities. The shirt and hat I wore with pride felt useless—tokens of a dream that had slipped away.
Disgusted and disheartened, I reflected on the experience. I was reminded of something I should have already known—it doesn’t matter if you show up early and do the job. It does not matter that you are fairly competent and reliable in the job. In other fields, in other workplaces, people often keep their jobs for showing up late, being incompetent, and being rude to customers. Life stinks, and sometimes it feels like everything you pour your heart into can crumble in an instant.
I had hoped to contribute to something I loved, but instead, I felt cast aside, much like Pipp, who had been replaced without a second thought.
As I packed away my team gear, I realized that passion alone wouldn’t secure my place in this world. I would need to find a new path, one where I could truly thrive—not just as a fan, but as someone whose dedication could lead to something meaningful. It was time to redefine my journey, seeking opportunities where my passion and effort could truly make a difference, ensuring I wouldn’t be left behind again.
Update: I’ve decided to give that store a one-star rating as a review.
Gotta find ways to feed yourself…
On Sunday night, I was tipped off to the fact that if the NY Jets fell behind any further — down 30-15 with seven minutes left in regulation against the Pittsburgh Steelers — they would likely pull all their starters. Or Pittsburgh might just run out the clock. Armed with that information, I did the following:
I can’t take the credit for this. Again, I was tipped off to the possibility of the Jets just giving up or not having the ball back for the rest of the game. So, I risked 30 bucks for a chance at a small profit.
But you gotta do what you gotta do to feed yourself. During the weekend, I was at the hockey rink doing play-by-play as a side gig. And during the intermissions and before the games, I had earphones in my ears listening to tips and live updates about college football, the NFL, and the NHL. Or after and before classes (yes, on the weekend), I stopped by at McDonald’s for a couple hours to again do the same thing, listening to tips and live updates so that I could make smart investments. (Yes, I ordered food while staying there, unlike some who use these places as their “offices” without ordering anything. And yes, like I said, I had earphones, unlike many inconsiderate people who play their stuff loudly without any earphones to annoy others around them. Jerks.)
Again, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Thanks to listening to tips and live updates, I was 3-0 in the three Sunday NHL games: Winnipeg Jets to win by exactly 3 goals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (ahhh, another “Jets/Pittsburgh” matchup), Winnipeg to beat Pittsburgh by the correct score of 6-3, LA Kings to beat Anaheim by more than 2.5 goals, and Colorado to beat the Sharks by the correct score of 4-1. These were taken with about five minutes left in each game. There were some misses in the NFL, unfortunately, but you can’t win all your investments. Got burned by the two late TDs in the KC/49ers game. The rest, though, were pretty good. (Again, I was tipped off to most of these situations.)
Ultimately, there were more than 100 picks made for the entire weekend, and I came out on the plus side, but although I tracked them, it’d be impossible to post them all here. Will have to try again for Monday Night Football (two games), Tuesday hockey, and Thursday Night Football and hockey, and see what happens.
You gotta do what you gotta do.
Highlights of Oct. 15, 2024
The logic was this:
Wild/Blues – With Minnesota ahead 3-1 in the third period, St. Louis would inevitably pull the goalie in the final minutes, meaning the Wild had a chance to “win by the correct score of 4-1.” But I was tipped off that St. Louis took a double-minor penalty (4 minutes) with just over 4 minutes left, meaning that 1) Minnesota might not try to score on the PP and 2) the Blues might not pull the goalie. That meant the game might finish at 3-1, with no more goals scored. I jumped in at +1800 odds.
With 1 minute left and the score still 3-1, the cashout value was at 95% of the payout, so I cashed out with 30 seconds left. Good call, as the Blues finally pulled with about 17 seconds left, and the Minnesota goalie shot the puck into the empty net with 8 seconds left. “Correct score 4-1” winner, and cashout of “no next goal” was the right move.
The Oilers game was simple: They were 0-3-0 to start the season, and Philadelphia was a tired team after having played in western Canada already vs. Vancouver and Calgary. Oilers were a potent team 3-on-3 in OT. So, when it was 3-2 for the Flyers late in the game, a “tie” (ie. game to go to OT) was the choice. Then after the Oilers tied it, the pick was for Edmonton to win. When the game went to OT, the pick was for the Oilers to win in OT.
The logic with Seattle vs. Nashville is that once the Kraken went ahead 5-3 early in the third, they might get an empty-net goal later, so the pick was -2.5. But when they went up 6-3 early enough, the pick was -3.5 with the idea that the Preds might pull the goalie down 3 goals. They did, and the Kraken did score at the end to win 7-3.
The other picks ranged from okay to great (TB to win 4-1, etc.), but the NYK pick was awful. The odds were bad. For the Flames game, they were up 2-1 vs. Chicago and the idea was that the Blackhawks were not going to tie the game, and even if Calgary scored into an empty net (it happened with 36 seconds left), there was “a goal to give” for the under 4.5 pick.
From 25 to 452
It was a wild game with this one… I originally took Minnesota to “win by the correct score of 4-1” with the Wild ahead 3-1 in the final few minutes of regulation. The rationale is that the Wild will try to score into the empty net once the Blues inevitably would pull the goalie for an extra skater.
Then I was tipped off that the Blues were given a double minor (4 minutes killing off two penalties) with 4 minutes left. So, that meant the Wild, up 3-1, might play “keep-away” and not try to score, and the Blues will not have a chance to pull the goalie for the empty net.
At that point, I hastily picked “no next goal” as a hedge. With no more goals from that point until the final minute, the cash-out value ballooned to 95 percent of the potential payout value. With 30 seconds left, I cashed out. It turned out to be the right call, as with about 17 seconds left, the Blues pulled their goalie, and the Wild netminder shot the puck into the empty net to make it 4-1. That means the cash-out was a great call.
And that goal also meant the “4-1 correct score” (the original, smaller payout play) also won.
People just like knocking me down
I had a great conversation with Michael Unger (@UDeck1990 on X) about his baseball card postings on social media; it was a wonderful discussion about baseball players from the 1990s.
While that was a great discussion, as I mentioned during the episode, people are vicious if they don’t agree with you.
There’s an example of a situation with a coworker many years ago, when I mentioned that a certain player (who made his major-league debut in that same decade of the 1990s) was overrated. That player happened to be my coworker’s favourite players — or at least one of his favourites. This was an in-person comment that I made when we were discussing baseball.
The coworker began targeting me ever since, for the duration of my time in that organization. First, he sent me a lengthy email stating why I was wrong and why that player was not overrated. Then he just stopped cooperating with me at work. He eventually attempted to get me fired, coming up with a devious scheme.
I left that organization shortly after, but I’m better for it. It was a toxic environment and not just because of that coworker. Management was incompetent, for the most part, and did not appreciate hard work. They appreciated those who kissed asses while not working hard or working smart.
After leaving, I went through a period where I became productive with other projects and also learned who my friends were and who weren’t. I reached out to some “friends” and lamented that I had left my company — and most of them never contacted me again. They cut me off, cut me out, because — apparently — they thought I was a lowlife who didn’t have a job.
But I was productive in other areas, and I’m proud of some of the things I did during that time.
Anyway, that’s just one story. And this one started because I made a comment about a baseball player (who, incidentally, has already passed away) that the coworker liked.
Seriously?
Like I said, people are vicious. They just are.
(Note: The player whom I said was overrated had the same pitching style as another pitcher that I mentioned in the podcast, but I won’t say that deceased player’s name.)
k. p. wee 