How can you tell the difference between a sports gambler and a degenerate sports gambler?
One of them places bets on the Super Bowl, while the other places bets on the length of the Super Bowl’s “Star Spangled Banner” performance. I’m sure you can tell which is which in that example…
Everyone in the country music world was PUMPED when it was announced that the legendary Reba McEntire would be singing the national anthem at the NFL’s “Big Game.” At this point, who really cares what teams are playing?
And though there will be a good amount of people that tune in early just to see the red-headed country music icon belt out “The Star Spangled Banner,” there will most likely be an equal amount of people watching the performance to see if they win or lose a bet.
If you didn’t know, one of the prop bets available for the Super Bowl is usually the over/under on the length of time it takes the singer to get through the national anthem. Oddsmakers have initially set the betting line at 84.5 seconds (1 minute, 24.5 seconds), though that line could change in the days leading up to kickoff.
Now before I get too far into this, I want to make it clear that I am by no means a trained betting professional or financial advisor. Everything past this point might as well be speculation, though I am going to do my best to try and provide some helpful numbers.
What’s the best way to figure out if you should take the over or the under on that bet? Well, one might assume that in order to look into the future, you have to take a step back into the past.
This won’t be the first time that Reba has sang the national anthem, so it could be beneficial to look back at some of her past performances to figure out how we want to attack this opening line of 1 minute and 24.5 seconds.
So below are some “Star Spangled Banner” performances through the years by the one and only Reba McEntire. I’ll give my closing thoughts below the list of examples, but you’ll be able to see the time attached to each performance, so do with those what you want.
Reba at the National Finals Rodeo In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1974:
– 1 minute and 12 seconds
Reba at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1984:
– 1 minute and 18 seconds
Reba at the World Series in Cleveland, Ohio in 1997:
– 1 minute and 24 seconds
Reba at the Celebrity of Hope Softball Game in Nashville, Tennessee in 2017:
– 1 minute and 22 seconds
Alright, so remember, oddsmakers have the line right now at 1 minute and 24.5 seconds. It seems as though earlier on in her career, she opted to get through “The Star Spangled Banner” faster, coming in way under the projected line for the Super Bowl in her 1974 and 1984 performances.
However, she inched closer to the 1 minute and 24.5 second mark in her later performances in 1997 and 2017, and the closest she got was when she sang at baseball’s version of the Super Bowl in the late 90’s (that one came in at 1 minute and 24 seconds).
Based on the whole list of performances and their durations, it’s tempting to go ahead and lock in the UNDER, considering Reba has never gone over 1 minute and 24 seconds. But remember, this is the Super Bowl, and everything is bigger in the “Big Game.”
The grandiose part of the Super Bowl makes me think that Reba could also go OVER the mark set by the oddsmakers, especially when you consider Chris Stapleton’s remarkable performance of the national anthem went over two minutes last year.
I’d advise you to take what I’ve said here and go with your gut, or better yet, don’t bet on the length of Reba’s “Star Spangled Banner” at all so you can sit back and enjoy it.
I don’t mind sweating the Super Bowl, but trying to make a quick buck off of Reba’s national anthem? Let’s all show ourselves (and Reba) some respect…
