The Super Bowl is the biggest event in American sports. It has positioned itself as a crucial date for the betting industry due to the number of people who make their predictions and hope to win money during the NFL championship game.
In addition to traditional bets, some fans bet on strange details. It’s common to find lines on how long the National Anthem will last, the first song of the halftime show, what color will be the Gatorade they shower the coach of the winning team with (if at all), and more.
All of these prop bets surrounding the game hold as much value as player props and other Super Bowl predictions during the game. The National Anthem gamble helps bettors get in the mood for the Big Game.
Setting The Stage
Betting more or less on the National Anthem has been a fan favorite for quite some time; it gives people something to root for right from the start. Since the first appearance of the National Anthem prop bet, an entire ecosystem has been built around it.
There are now a number of options available to bettors on the National Anthem:
- Duration of the song
- Will the anthem singer forget a word
- Number of aircraft during the overflight of the National Anthem
- Which head coach will appear on camera first during the National Anthem
- National Anthem singer’s outfit
- Who QB will show up first during the National Anthem
- Which receiver will appear on camera first during the National Anthem
History Of the Super Bowl’s National Anthem
A choir, marching band, or trumpeter typically performed the National Anthem in the 1960s-1980s, although it was skipped entirely in 1977 at all, since “America the Beautiful” was sung in its place. During the Gulf War, in 1991, Whitney Houston’s performance at Super Bowl 25 ushered in a new era of performances, and more people wanted to see popular singers belting the anthem.
In the past 41 years, the average performance of the national anthem has been slightly more than 1:56 long. It was surpassed in 2021 for the fourth-longest performance in Super Bowl history after Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan hit 2:16, the fourth-longest performance in the history of the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl 47 set the record for the longest anthem, thanks to Alicia Keys and her 2:35 performance, which altered the Anthem Gamble predictions. On the other hand, Super Bowl 32 in 1998, with Jewel and her 1:27, is the shortest. There has been an increase in the length of the song in recent years, with seven of the last nine episodes spanning more than two minutes and the other two taking 1:49 or more.
Betting On The Anthem
Like with any bet, prop bets also have rules that apply to the National Anthem gamble, as well. Sportsbooks start the clock when the singer utters his or her first note and stop it on the final “brave,” as it appears in the song’s original version.
This year, country crooner Chris Stapleton will perform the National Anthem. The eight-time Grammy winner and 10-time Academy of Country Music Awards winner knows how to put on a show, which could prove interesting for anthem bettors.
One of Stapleton’s more famous songs is a rendition of Tennessee Whiskey, which lasted 2:59 when David Allen Coe first sang it in 1981. Stapleton pushed it out to over eight minutes in a concert.
For this year’s National Anthem, Stapleton is already warming up his vocal cords. He could also be well aware of what the sportsbooks are saying about him. The National Anthem gamble is no longer just an irrelevant side bet; it sits alongside the popularity of the commercials and more.
Length
- Over 2:05 -185
- Under 2:05 +140
The anthem has gone OVER nine times and UNDER six, with one push, in the last 16 games. The odds are about even, so this wager is almost a coin toss (tails actually prevails in the coin toss, winning 29 of the last 56).
There are other options available to bettors:
- Missing/Forgotten Words
- Color of Stapleton’s hat
- Will there be a scoring drive shorter than the National Anthem’s length
- Which coach/player will appear on camera first/last
Last year, the over hit. The final line was 95 seconds, and Mickey Guyton took 1:51. Stapleton will likely push the envelope – and maybe even the record – with his performance this year and the National Anthem gamble odds the books are lining up.
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