Popular Minnesota TikToker Drives to Iowa to Bet $1,000 on Hawkeyes
If you're in the Midwest and you spend any length of time on TikTok, there's a good chance you've come across "You Betcha," aka Myles Montplaisir. Montplaisir has been one of the Midwest's greatest representatives. A former tight end for Minnesota Moorhead, the Minnesota native has parlayed his skits about common Midwestern tropes into a career.
Despite Montplaisir's football career concluding several years ago, he remains a die-hard football fan. I know a lot of Hawkeye fans' ears perked up last week when he made a bold prediction — and backed it up with a heavy wager.
In one of the latest "You Betcha" videos, Montplaisir claimed the Iowa Hawkeyes will win the Big Ten this year. Being that Ohio State and Michigan are the perennial powerhouses of the conference, that is a hot take to say the least. But Montplaisir was convinced enough to have his friend drive two hours south to cross the Iowa border to place the bet.
Being that sports gambling isn't (yet) legal in Minnesota, Montplaisir had to travel to Iowa in order to make the bet on his DraftKings Sportsbook app. At +1800 odds, the popular creator bet $1,000 on the Hawkeyes to win the Big Ten. If the Hawkeyes do indeed claim the conference, that's a $19,000 payout!
That wasn't the entirety of Montplaisir's video, however. After he placed the monstrous wager, he took a video of himself watching the Hawkeyes' home opener against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. Almost everybody thought the Hawkeyes would handedly beat the Jackrabbits, but the result was a lot closer (and more mystifying) than anybody predicted.
The game was tied 3-3 at the half, and the Hawkeyes did little in the second half outside of scoring two safeties at two points each. It was good enough for the ugliest of ugly wins, with the Hawkeyes beating the Jackrabbits 7-3. Iowa QB Spencer Petras had a game to forget, going 11-25 for 109 yards and an interception. South Dakota State's QB, Mark Gronowski, didn't fair much better, going 10-26 for a lowly 87 yards.
Both teams are still searching for the endzone.
Montplaisir was still giddy with excitement after the game. In the end, a W is a W no matter how ugly. The Hawkeyes are still 1-0.
7-3, baby, big win! Not really, it was a medium win...
Just when I thought my bet on the Las Vegas Raiders to win their respective division was a far-fetched wager, I saw Montplaisir's video. I feel slightly better about my odds, although I'm sure I'll be eating crow in a couple weeks.
If you haven't check out You Betcha's videos, I highly recommend them. Myles is an amiable personality, and his portrait of life in the center of America is only rivaled by Charlie Berens (the two have collaborated in the past as well).