Is it possible, thought the collective members of Brake For Frogger one day, for a videogame to earn you the money you’ve spent on it back? The World Cup was in full swing, we had a copy of the FIFA South Africa 2010 game to hand, we put the two together. In the week of the semi finals and final we put £10 into the Brake For Frogger betting fund, simmed the matches beforehand with the exact line ups they would have in real life and bet on the results the game gave us. This would surely lead to our fortune and subsequent retirement.
Note- Brake For Frogger would always encourage those who are going to gamble to do so in a responsible manner. Never bet more than you can afford. Always search for the best odds. Never run with scissors. Food straight out of the oven is hot and should be handled with care. Don’t eat the green parts of crisps.
1st Semi Final
Tuesday July 6th
Holland vs Uruguay.
Our simmed match was a tight affair as Cavani scored for the South Americans in the first half but, having spent most of the match knocking on the door, van Persie equalised for Holland in the 86th minute. All of this is despite the fact that Mark van Bommell had been sent off in the first half for gaining two yellow cards. Extra time cannot break the deadlock so we go to a penalty shoot out. Both sides were terrible in the shoot out but it was Uruguay who bottled it and a ten man Dutch side went through 2-1.
With all that in mind Brake For Frogger get online and place their bets-
£1 on Mark van Bommell being the first player to receive a card at 9/1.
£1 on there to be a red card in the game at 9/4.
£1 on the score to be 1-1 after 90 mins and Cavani to score first at 45/1.
In reality the game may have been close but it had far more goals. Holland ended up winning 3-2 with van Bronckhorst setting them on the way with an absolute bullet from miles out. Nobody gets sent off, not even when there’s a few scuffles at the end and Sneijder ends up getting booted in the face. Never before has Brake For Frogger wanted a knife fight to break out during a game of international football.
We are down to £7 in the kitty.
At Least They're Happy.
Semi Final
Wednesday 7th July
Spain vs Germany.
In the simmed match Spain simply could not handle the organised German side. It was pretty straight forward as Joachim Loew’s men got the 2-0 victory in 90 minutes with Kessling scoring first. Podolski end up with a yellow but that’s really the only blemish on Germany’s advance to the final.
Brake For Frogger bets-
£1 on Germany to win 2-0 with Kessling to score first at 100/1.
£1 on Podolski to get a yellow card
£1 on Germany to lead at half time and full time.
In reality the short passing game of Spain means Germany cannot get the ball. Spain hold on for the vast bulk of the game until Carlos Puyol’s stunning header takes them to the final at the expense of the favourites. Kessling doesn’t even get off the bench.
We are down to £4
We Had Exactly The Same Look On Our Faces.
Final
11th July
Holland vs Spain
Having made sweet F.A thus far Brake For Frogger know they must go all out on the final. We gather together, beers in hand, to sim the final half an hour before it’s played in real life. The simmed match is a completely one-sided affair as the Dutch play some wonderful football to outclass the Spanish in every department and walk it 4-0. Dirk Kuyt plays an absolute blinder by scoring the first and setting up two others. Spain throw Fernando Torres on in the second half and his first action is to miss a penalty that may have brought his team back into the game to a degree. Holland crush those memories of the 70′s when they lost two finals in a row and finally lift the World Cup.
Brake For Frogger bets-
£1 on Holland to win 4-0 with Kuyt to score first at 400/1.
£1 on a penalty to be missed in the 90 minutes at 9/1.
£2 on Holland to win at 13/8.
In reality Holland forgot about any notion of playing good football and instead decide to break bones in an attempt to cripple the Spanish to such a degree that they’ll be in the hospital rather than lifting to trophy. English referee Howard Webb has a hard time trying to keep the game alive as Nigel de Jong tries to embed his studs in Alonso’s ribs, a ‘tackle’ which should have seen him red carded straight away. Dirk Kuyt is subbed in the second half and takes Brake For Frogger’s possible £400 winnings with him. The game goes into extra time and, when the whole world thinks we’re heading for a shoot out, Iniesta provides the only true footballing moment by converting a move started by Fabregas. Torres comes on, his first action being to tear a muscle after a 45 minute warm up.
The Moment Video Games Didn't See Coming.
Brake For Frogger go bust as a result of this. The moral is this tale is to never let video games influence your natural betting instincts and never listen to me when I come up with this stupid idea for an article. On the plus side, the game had Fernando Torres’ pitiful World Cup experience pretty much down exactly.
