Any Number of Ways to Keep the Super Bowl Interesting

It’s a clear indication of how little I’d ever thought about placing a bet on the Super Bowl that I hadn’t heard about prop bets until a co-worker told me about them the week before the Seattle Seahawks played the Pittsburgh Steelers in Detroit in 2006.

Prop bets – short for proposition bets – let gamblers put money on just about every game situation possible. They’re fun because they’re just not about the outcome of the game; many have a direct impact on it, and they give the bettors who make them reasons to root on each play.

Certainly, they can keep the game interesting. An Associated Press story mentioned this week that weird bets on the Super Bowl became wildly popular during the 1990s. That was back when NFC teams dominated the game. In fact, Las Vegas sports books expanded the prop bets offered in 1995 after the San Francisco 49ers opened as 17.5-point favorites over the San Diego Chargers.

Many are game-related. Who will catch a pass first: Arizona’s Anquan Boldin or Pittsburgh’s Hines Ward? What will Ben Roethlisberger throw first: a touchdown pass or an interception? Will Kurt Warner break Joe Montana’s career Super Bowl record of 1,142 passing yards (Warner needs 364 yards to do it)?

But others, such as these, are not. How long will it take Jennifer Hudson to sing the national anthem? (The over/under opened at 1 minute, 54 seconds.) With what song will Bruce
Springsteen open his halftime show? (“Born in the USA” or “Born to Run” are tied with the shortest odds.) Who will the game’s MVP thank first? (God is the favorite.)

I checked out the prop bets on today’s game between the Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals last week, to see how many might involve former Honaker High and University of
Virginia star Heath Miller, who starts at tight end for Pittsburgh.

There are several. Most involve his potential impact in the passing game. Will he make the Steelers’ first catch? Score the Steelers’ first touchdown? Their last touchdown? Be the first player to score a touchdown in the game? Total yards on his first reception? Total receiving yards for the game?

Pick one? OK, last touchdown. Miller’s tends to be a matchup headache because of his size and speed, and he’s sure-handed. With the Arizona defense more likely to focus on wide receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes if the game is on the line, he’ll be Roethlisberger’s safety valve.

Much less likely is the chance that Miller will be the game’s MVP. He’s been one of the Steelers’ top receivers in the playoffs. Still, in the Super Bowl, glitz typically wins out over blue-collar guys like Miller. That’s why quarterbacks have won this award 22 times, while no tight end has ever gotten it.

Still, in terms of this year’s prop bets, the odds of Miller being voted the game’s MVP are better than, say, those of Arizona’s Steve Breaston.

That’s probably because Breaston is down the depth chart among Cardinals wide receivers. But he does return punts and kicks, so maybe his odds should be a little better than Miller’s. Another former Michigan Wolverine, Desmond Howard, was the game’s MVP returning kicks for the Green Bay Packers in 1997.

The off-the-field stuff can be pretty intriguing. I heard this week that the over/under on Hudson’s went up after several folks timed her previous renditions of the national anthem.

There’s a similar prop bet on the length of Springsteen’s halftime concert. I’ve been to a couple of his concerts, and the man does love to play … and play.

The NFL tends to keep a closer watch on the halftime show these days after Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 game, but I’m thinking Springsteen gets to play as long as he wants.

After all, he is “The Boss.”