Packers Legend Paul Hornung Placing Indiana's First Legal Sports Bet is the Ultimate Troll

Hall of Fame Packers running back Paul Hornung ended up completing a celebrated NFL career, but back in 1963, it didn't look as if that would be the case.

Hornung was, in many ways, the Pete Rose of football, banned from the game indefinitely, along with Lions defender Alex Karras, due to the bets they placed on NFL games, as well as "associating with undesirable persons". Both men were reinstated a year later, in March of '64.

And now? Hornung's out here submitting fully legal sports bets in the state of Indiana. How the world turns!

Paul Hornung, the #Packers legend who was once suspended from the NFL for gambling, has lived to see sports betting become mainstream. He'll place the ceremonial first bet at an Indiana sports book today. https://t.co/MRR6dD6cnK
— JR Radcliffe (@JRRadcliffe) September 12, 2019

Truly, that's some full-circle behavior right there. From being a pariah and encouraged not to attend the Kentucky Derby, to carrying the torch for legal sports betting as the world turns.

And where do Hornung's betting interests lie? With his beloved Packers, of course...though not to win it all.

Paul Hornung scheduled to place the first bet when Indiana's Horseshoe Casino starts taking sports wagers around 2 p.m. Thursday. Golden Boy planning on betting on his Packers giving three points vs. Vikings and Saints to win the Super Bowl at 12-1.
— Tim Sullivan (@TimSullivan714) September 11, 2019

Sports and the country are starting to embrace gambling as it is growing in prestige, with official league partnerships becoming the norm. We find it hard to disagree with Hornung's first round of bets; after all, it is hard to bet against a Hall of Famer who has been gambling for more years than most of us have been alive.