When 25-year-old goalkeeper Chris Kirkland came on for England in the second half of its 4-0 friendly rout over Greece his father earned nearly $19,000. That’s because when Chris was 15 years old, Eric Kirkland wagered $190 that his son would play on the national team. Eric got 100-1 odds from bookmaker William Hill.
"We have bets on our books for youngsters to grow up to play football for England, to win medals at the 2012 London Olympics, to win Wimbledon, the Open Golf Championship and to become world heavyweight boxing champions," William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe told Reuters. "If only a few of them come off we’ll be paying out over a [$2 million dollars]. And after the Kirkland success we expect to take scores of copy-cat bets.”