The Super Bowl is finally here.
There are so many thing to look forward to with tonight’s “Big Game.” So many actually that we need to do a checklist real quick to get everything straightened out:
-Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are looking to strengthen their dynasty with a third Super Bowl win
-Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift could have a storybook ending to their NFL season relationship that took the world by storm (Is Taylor Swift really gonna hoist the Lombardi before a majority of NFL players?)
-Millions of people could be made happy if the San Francisco 49ers beat the Chiefs with their quarterback Brock Purdy, who is nicknamed “Mr. Irrelevant” because he was picked last in the NFL Draft
-And most importantly, country music queen Reba McEntire is singing the National Anthem to officially get the event off and running
Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited for the game, but one of the biggest highlights will undoubtedly be Reba’s “Star Spangled Banner” performance. Setting aside Chris Stapleton’s near perfect rendition at last year’s Super Bowl, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this great country than have Reba belt out America’s national anthem.
And for all of those bettors out there, you might be paying very close attention to Reba’s performance. For those that don’t know, sports books offer all kinds of special Super Bowl prop bets, including the length of the national anthem.
As of right now, the odds set by most places look like this:
-Over 90.5 (1 minute, 30.5 seconds) has odds of +102
-Under 90.5 (1 minute, 30.5 seconds) has odds of -128
The line has moved up significantly since it was first posted. When I first gave some betting advice (and trust me, I’m not one to give betting advice) a couple of weeks ago, the line was at 84.5 seconds. If you do quick math, you’ll see that its gone up 6 seconds since the line for Reba’s performance was originally set.
Initially, it appeared that betting the UNDER was the better, safer route, but I’m not so sure now that it’s gone up to 1 minute and 30.5 seconds. For reference, take a look at some of Reba’s past performances and how long she’s drawn out the “Star Spangled Banner.”
That being said, Reba has never really gotten close to that historically… and we have a relatively large sample size to go by.
Reba at the Celebrity of Hope Softball Game in Nashville, Tennessee in 2017:
– 1 minute and 22 seconds
Reba at the World Series in Cleveland, Ohio in 1997:
– 1 minute and 24 seconds
Reba at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1984:
– 1 minute and 18 seconds
Reba at the National Finals Rodeo In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1974:
– 1 minute and 12 seconds
Clearly the odds pay out more if you take the over on 90.5 seconds, but judging by this list, the country star has never surpassed 84 seconds. There’s not much value in taking the under, but it definitely looks like the safer option at this point.
Your Best Bet: TAKE THE UNDER.
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