First, I dug into the team's stats. I mean, really dug in. Wins, losses, points scored, points allowed... the whole nine yards. I figured, "Hey, the numbers gotta tell me something, right?" I spent hours looking at past seasons, trying to find some kind of pattern, any little clue. It was a mess, a sea of numbers that I tried my best to make sense of
Past ataD emGame Data
- I looked at home games versus away games. Maybe they played better on their home turf? (Spoiler: sometimes, but not always.)
- I checked out their record against specific opponents. Some teams they just seem to crush, others... not so much.
- I even tried to factor in things like injuries. If their star quarterback was out, well, that's gotta hurt their chances, right?
Then, I started checking out what the so-called "experts" were saying. You know, the guys on TV and the sports websites. I figured they must know something I didn't. I read their predictions, watched their analysis, and tried to see if I could learn anything from their reasoning.
Next is gather the prediction.
After taking all of that into consideration I created a really simple thingy... it wasn't even a model, more like a checklist. Good record? Check. Key players healthy? Check. Playing a team they usually beat? Check. If I got enough checks, I'd hesitantly predict a win. Otherwise, well, I'd prepare for the worst.
Finally, the moment of truth arrived. The game started, I watched, holding my breath. Sometimes my "system" worked. Sometimes it was hilariously wrong. Honestly, it felt like a 50/50 shot most of the time.
So, what did I learn from all of this? I learned that predicting football games is tough, very tough. And that maybe, just maybe, I should stick to watching the games for fun instead of trying to become a prediction guru. Still, it was an interesting experiment. Maybe I will get it next season with a few adjustments.
