I have been a sports bettor for only two years so I am not sure that I have a worthwhile stance to speak on the matter, but the first thing about this thread that jumps out to me is the term "game of the year (GOY)" and how it is misused/ abused/ overused. There are many sites that have a GOY every week, which to me makes no sense as simple logic says those plays are game of the week plays at best. I believe the pros at this site do a great job with honest, limited usage of the term GOY. Nothing in sports betting is a lock and therefore GOY plays are not locks, but often that is what people expect, and it is unfair to criticize a pro because one loses money on a pick that a pro deemed GOY. THIS IS WHY THE PROS USE THE TERM GOY NOT LOCK. Nobody is forcing you to wager on a GOY, so it is strictly the bettor's fault if he loses money on that pick or any pick. Do not blame anyone but yourself for any loss in sports betting.
At the same time, if a pro loses a GOY pick, I imagine that he would want to provide an explanation of his stance and why he made a losing pick a GOY pick. Without an explanation, why would anyone want to buy a GOY pick from that pro ever again? It would be unwise for anyone to invest in anything without knowing exactly what that money is getting him.
As for the term GOY: To me, the only way a game should be given GOY status is if EVERY handicapping tool that one uses points clearly to one side. There should be not even one bit of research/ capping that points to the other side. Surely this should be the case less than 1% of the time.
Here is what I don't understand- I have seen a few GOY plays on this site this year that in my opinion showed clear risks for being wrong but were still considered GOY plays... The two I'm referring to are Oakland +6 vs Kansas City (NFL) and Fresno State +6 vs USC (NCAAF). In my opinion, one of the first indicators that these plays are not GOY is the superior talent on the other side... I would never make an underdog of less than a touchdown a GOY when the quality of the opponent is superior, regardless of the situation. These two picks can be strong plays, but not GOY... I'd want AT LEAST equivalent talent on both sides for an underdog GOY pick of 6.5 points or less. I am not calling anyone out and I mean absolutely ZERO disrespect; this post is simply my opinion on a sports betting topic from my perspective as a relatively young sports bettor. I welcome anyone, pro or amateur, to tell me why anything that I said is wrong, or to add onto what I've said with new opinions.