Lions Hard Knocks Odds: Detroit the Biggest Sportsbook Liability To Win NFC After HBO Series Feature
Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images. Pictured: Head coach Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions — no, seriously — are the biggest liability to win the NFC this season.
The Lions straight up haven't won a playoff game since 1991 — when a track called "I Wanna Sex You Up" was No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 list.
Detroit hasn't won their division since 1993, when the first general-use internet browser launched.
It's been a while. And it's not like the Lions have done well enough in recent years to justify this type of market momentum, either.
Call it the Hard Knocks Effect. The Lions are featured on the HBO series this summer, where camera crews follow players, coaches and staff across a given team and provide glowing hagiographies for all of its subjects.
The show, of course, is filmed, produced and edited in tandem with the NFL. Generally, take the program with a hefty grain of salt.
Obviously, the marketplace hasn't. The Lions' line to win the NFC at +5000 is the biggest liability in that market, according to BetMGM.
That means MGM stands to lose the most money — out of any NFC team — if the Lions end up winning the conference.
While that's also partly due to the Lions' long-shot odds, there's another metric that indicates just how popular this upstart group is in the marketplace.
The Lions are the second-most popular team in the NFL in divisional markets — in terms of individual tickets. Their odds to win their division are +850.
No team except the Eagles (+160) has any many bets to win its division.
Hagiographical documentaries work to change public sentiment. And they do, indeed, alter legacies and narratives.
Just ask Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
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