OK, it’s Super Bowl weekend and time for my annual list of proposition bets courtesy of the Las Vegas bookmakers.
As usual, my focus is not so much on football, player performances and statistical standards, but rather the peripheral circumstances surrounding the game which anybody, fan or no, can easily speculate upon.
Feel free to cut this out, make a copy, distribute it to your friends and tie it to a wager … for amusement purposes only, of course.
1. How long will it take country singer Chris Stapleton to sing the national anthem: over/under 2 min., 5 sec.?
2. How long will he stretch the word “brave:” over/under 5 sec.?
3. How many planes will participate in the flyover: over/under 5?
4. Will any scoring drive take less time than the anthem?
5. Will Stapleton forget or omit a word during the anthem?
6. Who will be shown first during the anthem, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni or Chiefs boss Andy Reid?
7. Who will be shown first during the anthem, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes or Eagles QB Jalen Hurts.
8. Who will be shown first after kickoff, Reid or Sirianni?
9. Who will be seen first during the anthem, the Eagles Jason Kelce or Chiefs Travis Kelce?
10. What will be said first during the broadcast, favorite/favored or underdog?
11. During what quarter will the Kelces’ mom, Donna, first be shown?
12. Which highlight will be shown first, Super Bowl LII (Eagles vs. Patriots) or Super Bowl LIV (Chiefs vs. 49ers)
13. Who will be mentioned first during the broadcast: Tom Brady, Labron James, Mike Trout, Peyton Manning or Michael Jordan?
14. Who will be mentioned first during the broadcast: Joe Biden, Donald Trump or Elon Musk?
15. Who will be mentioned first: Nick Foles, Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens or Carson Wentz?
16. Who will be seen first during the broadcast: Ryan Reynolds, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon or Will Ferrell?
17. Who will be shown first after kickoff: Roger Goodell, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie or Chiefs owner Clark Hunt?
18. Who will be shown first during the broadcast, Peyton or Eli Manning?
19. Will Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin be mentioned during the broadcast?
20. How many times will Roger Goodell be shown during the broadcast: over/under 1.5?
21. How many times will Donna Kelce be shown during the broadcast: over/under 3.5?
22. Will the broadcast mention it will be the first Super Bowl with two black quarterbacks?
23. Will the game broadcasters, Kevin Burkhardt or Greg Olsen mention the game’s odds or spread?
24. Will an unauthorized person enter the field of play?
25. How many songs will Rihanna perform at halftime: over/under 8.5?
26. Will Rihanna wear sunglasses on stage?
27. Will Rob Gronkowski make his halftime field goal?
28. How will Gronk miss his field goal, if he does: wide left, wide right, hit crossbar, hits left upright, hits right upright?
29. Which Pepsi Zero Sugar ad will run first, Ben Stiller’s or Steve Martin’s?
30. Will a State Farm commercial feature Patrick Mahomes?
31. How many commercials will have a dog in them: over/under 2.5?
32. What color liquid will be poured over the winning coach, including clear water?
33. Will the Kelce brothers hug at game’s end.
34. Will Jalen Hurts sing “Fly Eagles Fly” after the game?
35. Will any player be smoking a cigar on the field postgame?
(Chuck Pollock, an Olean Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
