In another week, millions of people will be tuning into the same broadcast across the nation; the crème de la crème of all Americanized sporting events, the head honcho of athletic confrontation, and, of course, every gambler’s fantasy. The Super Bowl has become not only the single, most-watched athletic event, but the most bet-on annual event in society.
Without a solitary favorite in this year’s Super Bowl, I will most likely not place any wagers on the big game, but the opportunity is certainly there. The number of proposition, or side, bets that are out there these days has become outrageous. Casinos in Las Vegas are taking bets left and right this week. Bookies across the country are swimming in their potential earnings and online gambling sites are getting more hits than a steroid-pumping all-star.
Point being, if there’s the slightest hint of opposition toward anything at all in the Super Bowl, chances are you can place a bet on it. (Gambling, of course, is illegal depending on where you are, so the best advice is to be wise… or discreet).
Proposition bets, or prop bets, occur all the time, especially with sporting events and, predominantly, in the world of poker. Every once in a while, opponents at the poker table will place wagers not only on who is holding the better hand, but on more arbitrary outcomes, such as what the first three cards on the table will be, or which predominant suit shows.
Wagers have even been known to be more precarious, riskier, and personal than the cards, themselves. One example came when poker pro David Grey bet fellow pro Howard Lederer (a vegetarian, as a result of gastric bypass surgery) $10,000 that he wouldn’t consume a cheeseburger. Needless to say, that was the most expensive burger Grey had ever paid for in his life.
As for the Super Bowl, anything is fair game. Obviously, there’s the traditional “Who’s going to win?” bet. Not too long ago, wagers on the spread in scores became a popular pick, too.
Nowadays, gamblers are lining up to place bets on anything and everything, from the game’s MVP to the coin toss. Some take their pick of whether or not kickers will make field goals of more than 30 yards or whether either team is going to score in the last two minutes of the game.
Many bet-placers will be looking to this year’s quarterbacks, Eli Manning and Tom Brady, to fulfill their monetary wagers. Bettors can place guesses on whether Manning will throw an interception or touchdown pass first. Cumulative passing yards are another common pick.
Picking an overall winner doesn’t seem to come at an easy price. According to an article on sports analysis site bleacherreport.com, the money line for the New England Patriots right now is -475, meaning that just to make a $100 profit you would have to place $475 on the Pats to win it all.
Some of the bets, however, are way out there, and if you’re foolish, er… courageous enough to place them, you may find the payoff you’re looking for. Take Super Bowl XLI, for example, when the Indianapolis Colts last year squared off against the Chicago Bears.
Thousands of people were tuned in from the start, being sure not to miss the “Piano Man” himself, singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Thanks to gambling site bodog.com, viewers were timing Billy Joel’s rendering of the National Anthem, with bets placed on an over/under 1 minute and 44 second wager.
Still others were throwing money on what the game clock would read when a coach was doused in a cooler of Gatorade. Some were placing money on the number of ads that appeared before a Budweiser commercial.
Maybe it’s me, but you have to either be a lucky son-of-a-gun to be placing any sort of dollar amounts on these predictions or simply have more money than you know what to do with.
And all of these side bets seem to take away from the significance of crowning a national champion.
But who knows? With a team like the 18-0 Patriots against the first NFC wildcard to make it to the big game since Super Bowl X (mind you, we’re at XLII now… that’s 32 years later), maybe it could be worthwhile to turn your focus on other aspects of the big night in Arizona.
At any rate, here are a few proposition bets, complete with money lines, which I have developed for all the compulsive gamblers out there to help tolerate the blowout that will be Super Bowl XLII:
• Commentators will once again offer criticism on Patriots’ QB Tom Brady wearing a foot brace following last week’s win over the Chargers. (Get over it, already! He’s fine!) (-600)
• Reference will be made at some point of the game to Tom Brady’s current squeeze, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen. (And why not? She’s gorgeous.) (-250)
• Eli Manning’s nose will grow even bigger in size and actually complete a 15+ yard pass. (+200)
• Tom Petty’s Super Bowl Halftime Show will include two or more of the following hits: “I Won’t Back Down,” “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” “Refugee,” “Free Fallin’” (-300)
• Tom Petty will experience a “wardrobe malfunction” during the halftime show. (+1,200)
• New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin will still show signs of that awful windburn he picked up in Lambeau Field. (+300)
• New England head coach Bill Belichick will not only tie Pittsburgh legend Chuck Noll for most Super Bowl wins in a career with a victory on Feb. 3, but will become NFL’s most-hated coach by everybody who is not a Pats fan. Everybody. (-800)
• Giants’ defensive end Michael Strahan will use his earnings this season to fix that horrendous gap between his front teeth and start sounding less like Mike Tyson when he talks. (+1,500)
• No matter what the outcome of the Super Bowl, Washington and Philadelphia fans won’t let us Ravens fans live down the fact that we gave up the only loss to the Miami Dolphins this year. (-2,000)
Enjoy the game, and happy betting.