Football is no joking matter for Rita Rudner and her husband, Martin Bergman.
Rudner, with guidance from her spouse, posted a 30-20-1 record against the point spread to become the first repeat winner of Sal’s Celebrity Selectors handicapping contest. Rudner also won the competition in 2003.
The Harrah’s headlining comedian cited her key role in winning the contest.
“I have a very big part in the football competition. I say, ‘Martin, what teams are we rooting for today?’ and then I am the cheering section,” Rudner said. “He really takes this seriously and it affects our Sunday. If he is 0-3, it’s a bad Sunday, and if he goes 3-0 he’s in a great mood. So I root hard because I like him to be in great mood.
“Martin is English, so he has had to study hard. Things like whether a team is playing at home, or at their grandmother’s, and which teams like to party and which don’t. But he does all the work. Someone asked me last night who was going to win the playoffs and I said, ‘Hillary Clinton.’ ”
Rudner isn’t completely football-oblivious – she knows the Patriots are unbeaten and has no problem rooting against the competition of Las Vegas celebrities.
“I have to root for people to lose, because otherwise there’s bad karma in our TV room. It doesn’t matter that there’s no money or glamour – it’s just very, very important to us. It’s better than an Oscar. We get to root for our picks and against the picks of other people. We’re always saying things like, ‘Honey, Lance Burton can’t win today!’ ” Rudner said.
Bergman went as far as to take other celebrities’ trends into consideration when making his picks down the stretch.
“Lance always picks the Monday night game, and Penn & Teller always take the Patriots and Eagles,” Bergman said. “The one who surprises me is (Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular star Anthony) Crivello. If he had gotten got off to a better start, he would have won two years in a row. In terms of this year, the points the Patriots started giving at the end was silly – it was a good bet to go against them.
Bergman says if he was to make a bet at the sports book on a Super Bowl winner, he’d take the Colts or Cowboys, “just because the Patriots are such a crazy favorite.”
Bergman and Rudner will celebrate their 20th anniversary in June, and Rudner describes his role in her career this way: “I tell jokes, he does everything else.”
And that includes helping her win celebrity football picking contests.
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As this year’s champ, Rita and Martin will be providing playoff picks each week, as well as adding a comment about each game.
Seahawks -3 over Redskins
Comment: OK, Seattle did lose to Atlanta last week, but I don’t believe Washington is as good as its end of season record suggests.
Steelers -3 over Jaguars
Comment: Nobody wanted to play Jacksonville? Well, Pittsburgh did, judging from their lack of effort/interest to get the third seed. Jags won Dec. 16 at Pittsburgh, but I think Pittsburgh reverses that result in the playoffs.
Buccaneers -2 1/2 over Giants
Comment: Can the Giants hurry/sack Garcia? Will the pressure get to Eli like it does at home? I think the Giants will be tired after the Patriots game and Tampa Bay will either be rested or rusted. I’ll take rested.
Chargers -9 vs. Titans
Comment: Nine points is a lot, but the Chargers are on a mission to wipe out last year’s embarrassing exit and are against an opposition that’s frankly fortunate to be in the playoffs (it would be Cleveland if they hadn’t blown it in Week 16).
Sal DeFilippo once tried to convince a sports book manager to refund his losing parlay ticket because of hanging chad and a confusing butterfly ballot of choosing teams. When he isn’t going through withdrawals after making deposits at the sports book, he’s fantasizing – fantasy baseball, fantasy football, and other fantasies that we won’t go into. Reach him at [email protected]