Super Bowl prop bets 2014: How many times will they say ‘12th man’
The Super Bowl isn’t being played in Seattle, but an over/under of two times for how many times the announces will say “12th man” seems a bit low.
Harry How
Super Bowl prop bets are just about the best part of the big game, especially if your team doesn't happen to be fighting for a Lombardi Trophy on Sunday. For those of us in that boat, we basically have to hope for an exciting football game, the team we like less falling flat on its face, funny commercials and sweet, sweet action on the betting lines.
We can bet on who will win, or which player will earn MVP, or how many yard Peyton Manning will throw for (smart money seems to be on "a lot"). But it's the quirkier prop bets that are more fun to roll with, and today we're going to highlight one of the hundreds of potentially ridiculous bets.
Courtesy of Bovada.lv, one of their bets is simple: How many times will the phrase “12th man” be said during the game? The betting specifies from kick off until final whistler, live pictures only and disallowing any taped pictures or past video to count towards the total. In other words, one of the broadcast crew will have to clearly say the phrase while the game is going -- and halftime does not count either.
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For those unaware (how?), the 12th man is what the Seahawks refer to as their fanbase or their home-field advantage. CenturyLink Field is typically one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL, and the 12th man is the responsible party. False starts for opposing offenses is pretty much guaranteed.
A history of prop bets
The birth of prop bets, and how they changed the way we gamble on the Super Bowl. But the 12th man is something that only really happens in Seattle. This game is being played a world away, in New York. So what’s going to happen? The commentators are going to say it anyway, of course.
Right now, the over/under is an even two times. This writer thinks that is ridiculous. If you can't close your eyes and imagine them saying "Well it sure does feel like the 12th man is here tonight!" Or maybe the Seahawks are losing and they say "I wonder if the 12th man could help them out of this one!" They might even have a little decibel meter on the screen like they did in the NFC Championship, when the Seahawks fans didn't come close to getting as loud as they've been in the past.
The over seems most likely here ... betting the over is even money at the time of writing, however.
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