The training program took us to a soccer game yesterday. It was between Gwangju and Seongnam. The stadium was almost empty – I think our large group of foreigners was about a quarter of the audience. This one guy, Dave, proposed a bet on the outcome. I studied the two teams’ rosters, and said, OK, I think Seongnam will win. And I was right – Seongnam won, 2 to 0. Was it pure luck? What was my betting strategy?
I just bet on the team that had foreigners’ names on the roster. My thinking? If the team can afford to put some foreigners on its roster (an expensive proposition, apparently), then they must be serious about winning, and are probably near the top of the league, since very few foreigners play soccer in Korea (baseball and basketball are different, where most teams have several foreigners at least). I suppose it still could have been luck, but Gwangju was pretty clearly out-classed in the game – the Seongnam team (foreign and Korean players equally) was faster, nimbler, and seemed generally better prepared.
