What the Experts Are Saying on the Super Bowl's Most Fun Bets
Millions of Americans lamented last Sunday as two of the NFL’s least popular teams secured their spot in the Super Bowl once again. While not everybody is looking forward to picking a side on the country’s most bet sporting event, there are ways to make it fun for those of us not thrilled with this matchup. DraftKings and FanDuel, among other sportsbooks, are offering a plethora of “novelty” bets for those of us not looking to bet on a particular outcome of the game itself. This article takes an in-depth look at what these bets are, what the experts are saying, and which side I am taking a stand.
Coin Toss: Tails
If you like a sure-fire 50/50 bet, no better place to find one than this year’s Super Bowl coin toss. Across the 58 Super Bowls, the coin has landed tails 30 times and heads 28 times. It’s been fairly even as of late, as well. In the last 10 Super Bowls, it has been tails six times and heads four. Here is where it gets interesting. Four of the last five times an AFC team was calling the toss, the coin landed tails. This includes the last time these teams played each other in Super Bowl LVII. The Chiefs correctly called tails, deferred to the second half, and ended up winning the game. Furthermore, I always take a look at the ledger before placing bets since it’s generally better to bet against the public. As of the date of publication in this article, 54% of the bets and 55% of the money is on heads. It’s a random bet, but if you are superstitious, or even just a little superstitious, the numbers say go tails.
National Anthem Length: Under
Singer and Songwriter Jon Batiste is set to sing this year’s national anthem and the line has already been set at 120.5 seconds. The number is just under the 11-year average for the national anthem length of 124 seconds. Batiste performed the national anthem at the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in his only major performance of the song, with its total singing time of just 88 seconds. He is likely to surpass that for this highly anticipated Super Bowl performance, but I don’t see it going up enough to reach the over mark. Give me his under.
Gatorade Color: Purple
For me, these props are all about history. It’s been fairly even across colors since the annual tradition of pouring Gatorade on the winning head coach began in the early 2000s. Orange has a slight lead with five, while most other colors sit with four, and yellow and red/pink sit as the least popular. In each of the last two Super Bowls, however, the Gatorade color was purple. This includes Super Bowl LVII when the Chiefs took down the Eagles. It’s worked for the Chiefs so far, you have to believe they will keep the mojo going with this unorthodox Gatorade flavor. If you are betting this prop and believe the Chiefs will win, you must roll the dice with purple.
