An Oak Park man is auctioning off his bad luck in an effort to help the winning bidder's team win the Super Bowl. And it's all going for a good cause -- beyond winning the game.
Christopher Wilno says his bad luck can almost guarantee that a fan's Super Bowl team will see victory.
How is that possible you ask? Wilno says it seems virtually every team he has cheered on to win has lost. Think of it as his "X-men" power -- something potential bidders could use to their advantage.
"You see, my cheering for the opposing team gives you a very good shot at winning the Super Bowl," Wilno says in his eBay ad.
It started with Boise State. Wilno says he bought a team hat and cheered the Broncos on in the run at the BCS championship. They lost to Neveda. Then he bought a hat and cheered Oregon. The Ducks lost. Then he cheered the Falcons, proudly sporting their hat. They lost too.
"Over the past few months, I have come to notice I have horrible luck when I really take to a football team, buy their hat, and cheer them on," Wilno said.
In an effort to turn his misfortune into some one else's good luck, with the help of a friend, Wilno created an eBay auction to sell his "superpower" to the highest bidder.
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Wilno proposes in his ad:
If the highest bidder is a Pittsburgh fan, I will supply my services as an avid Green Bay fan. If the highest bidder is a Green Bay fan, I will simply do the opposite and be a Pittsburgh fan.
As part of Wilno's "victory package," he says he will buy the winning bidder's opposing team's hat, become an avid fan "up to and including" the Super Bowl, and will "smack talk" the winning bidder's team, which as he says, will "virtually guarantee" they will win.
But why?
Beyond an almost "guaranteed" victory party, Wilno says it's really about giving to a good cause. And it's not football.
In September 2004, my father was diagnosed with leukemia. In the 18 months to follow, my daughter Isabella passed away, my father lost his battle to leukemia and my wife was diagnosed with cancer while pregnant with our son Jaden. The events are sad but they shaped me. They lead me to a life of endurance sports. They lead me to a life of charity.
Wilno says the proceeds from the winning bid will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society foundation and its search to find a cure.
"The concept of this auction encompasses everything I am about," Wilno said. "That blessings and good fortune can come out of even the worst of times."
If you're interested in Wilno's Super Bowl-winning-karma-superpower, you can bid on eBay. The auction closes Feb. 3.
