Festivus Airing of Grievances: Our Worst Bad Beats of 2021

A Happy Festivus for those of you observing this Thursday, December 23rd.

If by chance you're unfamiliar with this holiday tradition, Festivus stems from a 1997 Seinfeld episode where George Costanza's father Frank creates a new December holiday to combat all the commercialism of Christmas.

This should get you caught up.

Festivus tradition calls for a gathering at dinner, a non-decorated aluminum pole, the "Feats of Strength," and most importantly, the annual "Airing of Grievances" designed to tell all the people in your life how much they've disappointed you.

Sound like fun?

Over at BetSided, out team of editors went back through the betting calendar of 2021 to air our out our own grievances at the worst bad beats we suffered this year. From the NFL, to the PGA Tour, and even a gut-wrenching tennis match, here are the beats that caused us the most heartbreak this holiday season.

As always, all odds referenced are via WynnBET Sportsbook.

Worst Bad Beats of 2021

The Cowboys Miracle Cover vs. the Patriots to Remain Undefeated vs. the Spread

After the Dallas Cowboys started off 5-0 vs. the spread in 2021, I couldn't wait to bet against America's team. Dallas is already known to get a ton of public money, presenting favorable, inflated lines for those who want to bet against them.

Week 6 against the New England Patriots was my white whale.

I quickly jumped on New England at +3.5 early in the week before WynnBET and other sportsbooks moved the line to +3. The Patriots were at home and I loved the opportunity to grab them as dogs at home with the hook. After all, it's not often that a Bill Belichick coached team is a home underdog; just eight times in his NFL career since 2005.

With the game tied at 29-29 in overtime, Dallas found themselves right in field goal range with under four minutes to go. It was 1st and 10, and all they had to do was run the ball, inch closer to the target, and kick to win it by 3, giving my Patriots +3.5 the win I believed it deserved.

Instead, Prescott went for the home run ball and found a streaking CeeDee Lamb 35 yards downfield for the touchdown, shattering my betting ticket and leaving me stunned.

Of course, our BetSided colleague Peter Dewey was on the Cowboys, and had to gloat his "victory" in front of all of us.

Maybe my airing of grievances should be directed towards "Public Pete" instead of the Cowboys!

Back-to-Back Outright Winners at The Northern Trust and BMW Championship

It would be considered bad luck to have an outright ticket on a golf winner and for them to finish in second place. It'd be even worse luck to have an outright ticket in a golf tournament and have them lose in a playoff.

It'd be an absolute nightmare for that to somehow happen two weeks in a row! But that's what happened to me this year.

Going back to late August, in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, I had two outright tickets that ended up losing in a playoff.

At the Northern Trust, I held a Cameron Smith ticket at 40/1. He would finish tied with Tony Finau, but then would promptly yank his tee-shot on the first playoff hole out of bounds and effectively hand the victory to Finau.

The very next week, I had a Bryson DeChambeau outright ticket at 25/1 to win the BMW Championship. He would go on to lose in a playoff to Patrick Cantlay, and to make matters worse,  the playoff last six holes just to make my pain last that much longer.

Of course I could've hedged in both scenarios, but I didn't like a moron. Now I have to live with the painful memory. -- Iain MacMillan

Stefanos Tsitsipas to Win French Open (+1800)

Tsitsipas was carving up the clay all summer long ahead of the French Open this past summer.

A friend and I jumped in at good odds before the public started to pick up on the type of form he was in heading into the Grand Slam. After the draw came out that put him on opposite sides of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, we knew we were in good shape. Tsitsipas proceeded to roll over the competition en route to his first career Grand Slam Final, dropping three sets along the way.

After Djokovic went the distance with Nadal in a classic semifinal, we had hoped there was an emotional letdown, as well as fatigue, that can open the door for a Tsitsipas upset. He entered as a +250 underdog while Djokovic was -300. Of course, hedging wasn't on my min. I wanted all the glory.

The upstart took a 2-0 lead and was one set away from cashing this +1800 ticket. Again, no hedge in sight even though Djokovic was a +200 underdog.

Predictably, he came back and won, like it feels like he always does, and I was left wondering why I was so greedy. Oh well, we learn for next time. -- Reed Wallach