Those who know me know that I enjoy gambling and betting. Enjoy is the correct word, not obsessed. I never bet more than $30 or $40 and usually I enjoy a good gentlemen's bet with an added incentive of beer, pizza, or something to do with embarrassment. With that in mind, today should be one of my favorite days of the year even though the Packers will be watching the game on TV. Unfortunately, this is an abnormal year because I will be at work for the better part of the first half, but that still doesn't keep me from making a few wagers, five to be exact. A couple on winner/loser, one on spread, one on MVP, and a final bet on the coin toss. Yes, I bet on the coin toss. And I will tell you why. Here are my 10 (or so) predictions for the Superbowl.
11. The first one doesn't count on the list because it has partially already happened and it is kind of a given. This will be one of the greatest weekends in the history of the Harbaugh family. At the end of the day one of the kids will win and last night the Harbaugh's brother in law upset the number 1 team in the Nation. Yes, their brother-in-law is in fact Tom Crean, the coach of the Indiana Basketball Hoosiers (#3), who took out top ranked opponent Michigan last night. So the Harbaugh's will walk away from the weekend with two of the biggest wins, one 'a tad' bigger than the other, and the loser of the family will only be able to rest of his AFC or NFC Championship banner.
10. One of my favorite prop bets from each Super Bowl. The Coin Toss. Now there are three different ways you can bet on this. Normally it would be heads or tails, but I believe in the Super Bowl, the coin merely has pictures of each teams logo on either side. So you can bet on who wins, will the team that wins the coin toss win the game, and will the team that wins the toss choose offense or defense. Now all of this might sound a bit silly, but this is sadly a real bet, one that will have over $100,000,000 on the line. Get that 100 million. Take that recession. So with my prediction I will say that the Ravens "team of destiny" will win the toss.
9. Will Beyonce be joined on stage by Jay Z during the Half time Show (odds. Yes: 11/10, No: 2/3) Yes, this is in fact a bet. Although it isn't the craziest one involving Beyonce. That award goes to the Will Beyonce's hair be curly/crimped or straight at the beginning of the Super Bowl Halftime Show. (Curly/Crimped: Even) Now this is a difficult prediction to make. If the game were next year it would be a no brainer and you could add in Alicia Keys. The game is being played in NY so of course we would get a rendition of Empire State of Mind. However the game is in New Orleans. We know we are going to get Single Ladies. Perhaps we will get a surprise song by all of Destiny's Child. But you know she will have someone else in her act. I am going to go with the odds and say yes we will get Jay Z, either for Crazy in Love or Deja Vu. That could bump off Single Ladies and save my ears the extra pain.
8. The list of crazy Prop Bets is astounding with the color of gatorade, who Obama will pick, and many different bets on the number of times "Harbaugh" "Harbowl" or "Jack Harbaugh" will be mentioned. But perhaps my favorite crazy bet is on the number of Tweets per second. With the popularity of Twitter the over/under is 17,000. Which means at some point in the game 17,000 tweets will be sent at the same time. With all the wacky and weird stuff going on in the game, you have to go with the over.
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| Yea that Guy MVP |
7. Super Bowl MVP. Now the two Qbs have the best odds with Flacco at 11/4 and Kaepernick at 7/4 but I am going to predict a couple of sleepers. Ray Lewis might be a favorite pick at 7/1 or Ray Rice at 10/1 but I am going to go with the two TEs. Vernon Davis at 18/1 or Dennis Pitta at 40/1. In order for the Ravens to win Pitta is going to have to go off, so I think a two touchdown, 100 yard game isn't out of the question. Go with Pitta with such great odds.
6. A Beer Ad will NOT be the best commercial. So many years the beer companies come up with new inventive ways to show you that Bud Light really does taste better or different from Budweiser. This year, expect an upset. I'm thinking either Pizza or Car, but long odds at Insurance. Oh and I'm taking the over on more than 15 music artists featured in ads. Favorite Ad
5. Best Movie Trailer Commercial. No extra gimmicks or jokes. Flat out and simple, Man of Steel has the best trailer. Iron Man 3 will show too much, World War Z looks too CGI-ed, and I worry about Star Trek giving the plot away.
4. Who will the Super Bowl MVP thank first. (Odds. Teammates: 5/4; God: 5/2; Coach: 12/1; Family: 12/1; Owner: 15/1; No One: 9/4) I definitely understand Teammates but with players like Ray Lewis, you have to go with God. Who knew God is not the Odds on favorite. If you are looking for an upset, I'd go with Coach at 12/1. With both the brothers in the game a player might go coach first.
3. Oh, and there is an actual game happening. Ravens will stop Kaepernick from running. Don't expect a Packer-Niners game. The Ravens are far too smart and have watched the Falcons tape. The Ravens will stop the run and the Niners will have to rely on Kaepernick's arm and Gore's legs. As a side note. If the Ravens really wanted to win they would allow Kaepernick to run and instead shut out the pass. A slower running game helps the old Ravens D, although one could argue that it will wear them down. But the Packer game was an anomaly. Usually Kaepernick uses the Pistol to scramble, not flat out run. I'd worry more about his arm, then his legs.
2. Number 2 is a double, because one is a statement, and true. Randy Moss is an Idiot. When Moss came out this week and declared himself the greatest WR ever, he lost any credibility he had, which was nearly nonexistent. Moss needs to listen to Beyonce sing Single Ladies, because both have a lot in common, both the subjects of the song and Moss don't have any rings. He isn't even in the top 3. I put him at number 4. 3. Tim Brown 2. Don Hutson 1. The immortal, Jerry Rice.
The second is This will be one of the best Super Bowl games of all time. AKA if you are expecting a blowout, watch a Wizards game. I expect this to come down to the fourth and less than a touchdown between the two teams and the winner is…
1. The Winner Is… The Ravens. Do I buy into "the team of destiny" no, but I do buy into a team that went on the road and beat Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. If the Ravens do as I predict and shut down the run, I like the Ravens running attack better. Pierce and Rice against Gore. I also trust Anquan Bolden and Torrey Smith more than Randy Moss and Michael Crabtree any day of the week. Ed Reed picks up an interception, Lewis pulls a couple of good plays, Tucker makes the perfect field goal. Ravens 27 - Niners 24 and I win a chunk of change, beer, and Capitol Tickets.
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