The Ultimate Super Bowl Quiz for NonGambling, NonFootball Experts
The amount of this year’s Super Bowl betting will be unprecedented.
Projections are that 68 million Americans will bet $23 billion this weekend on the Super Bowl. This marks a 35% increase in money wagered from the previous all-time record, set last year.
That explosion of growth appears to be driven mostly by the official legalization of sports gambling: More people in more states than ever can bet legally. Sports books, for years run in shadowy corners of Las Vegas or Atlantic City, are growing bigger and bigger. Some 38 states now allow sports betting (they want to capture part of the revenue), TV networks love the ad dollars from sports betting sites, and the sports organizations themselves (like the NFL) are now openly encouraging betting, believing it increases the popularity of their sport. And experts say we ain’t seen nothing yet. Chris Grove, a “gambling analyst” for Eilers and Krejcik Gaming, told NBC News that “there’s a good chance that every Super Bowl for the next ten or so years will be the most bet Super Bowl thanks to the underlying growth of regulated sports betting in the U.S.”
A Tokyo to Vegas logistical nightmare? A possible marriage proposal? A potential presidential endorsement? The Taylor-Travis saga will drive record Super Bowl numbers.
It doesn’t hurt that this year there’s a “T” factor driving interest in the game. Millions of viewers who’ve never cared about the game will be tuning in hoping to get a glimpse of Taylor Swift cheering for her latest squeeze, Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, after a marathon trip back from a concert in Tokyo. T Swizzle’s presence is expected to boost viewership by a jaw-dropping 10% - a record 73% of American adults are expected to tune in.
So the stage is set. A record number of people want to put some money on the game. A record number of people who don’t know much about the game will be watching. THIS IS MY MOMENT.
For the past 20 years, I’ve been training, preparing an annual Super Bowl betting vehicle for a party at my brother-in-law’s house with a simple guiding principle: the winner shouldn’t need to know ANYTHING about football. The other constant: because of folks with small children (or who have their own early bedtimes), all questions must be resolved by the end of halftime.
TODAY, I SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD!
Over the past two decades, the specific questions on the quiz have evolved, but a few constants have stood the test of time (see also some hard-learned pro tips):
· Will the singer of the national anthem take more than two minutes to complete the song? (Average length over the past 20 Super Bowls is 1:55.5 seconds, with the longest being Alicia Keys at 2:36. Historically Reba McEntire, who will be singing this year, has gone in the 1:30-1:45 range when she sings it a capella, so I’m going shorter this year, but she’s older now and she’ll have accompaniment. Does her age and this stage mean she’ll hold notes for less time or take a longer time between notes getting her breath?)
· Heads or tails on coin flip? (The heads side of a coin is generally heavier, making it slightly more likely to land down, but there’s a different coin with different characteristics for each game. Still, tails has come up 30 of the previous 57 Super Bowls — 52.6% of the time)
· What company will buy the first commercial after the kickoff ($37,500 for Super Bowl I; they now cost $7 million for 30 seconds)? (I usually give four choices in this category, but if you are playing the odds, Budweiser is the all-time leader by a mile in ads, purchasing time on 55/58 Supes, far more than #2 Pepsi’s 35 appearances. Interesting fact: there are long-running lawsuits in Canada by viewers outraged they don’t get to see US ads on their Super Bowl feed.)
· Will the first play after the kickoff be a run or a pass? (Runs are 1.5x more likely, and 4 of the past 5 Super Bowls have started with a run. But both teams this year gain more yards passing than running)
Beyond that, the questions over the years have been more game-specific, and may give you some sense of football or cultural history: there have been questions about what kind of outfit Bill Belichick (the Patriots coach when they were almost always in the Super Bowl) would wear (almost always wore a hoodie); whether anyone would make a one-handed catch (remember Odell Beckham Jr.?); whether there would be a military flyover; whether players would kneel (depends on the year), etc. This year you could do an entire quiz based on questions about Taylor Swift or the first-ever alt telecast on Nickelodeon from SpongeBob Squarepants’ undersea home.
Take the quiz and you may find yourself reacting this way to a commercial!
But someone’s got to make the tough decisions. I’m here for you and your Super Bowl party. Here’s how this Super Bowl Quiz works:
· Make a grid with the questions below in it (let me know (bonecomments@gmail.com) if you would like a fillable grid for your family and I’ll email one to you.
· Have all Super Bowl guests fill it out before the national anthem begins.
· Everyone throws in $5; park the money/prize with a trusted guest.
· Person with most correct answers wins.
And you’ll be done before the second half!
Let me know how it goes…
Super Bowl LVIII (mostly) NonFootball Quiz
1. Length of national anthem (from start of “Oh” to end of “brave”) greater than 1:45:00? Y or N (note you need to designate an official timer).
2. Heads or tails on coin toss?
3. First play from scrimmage run or pass?
4. First player to catch pass odd or even jersey number?
5. Unintentional (a majority of the room will have to judge intent to avoid cheating) spill in main viewing room between kickoff and halftime (food, beverage or none)?
6. First commercial category post-kickoff ? Beer, betting, soft drink, car, food, other?
7. Taylor Swift hair worn up, down or is she not in attendance?
8. How many cutaway shots of Taylor Swift reacting between kickoff and halftime? 0,1,2, more
9. Which of these celebrity commercials will be shown first (pick one)? Kardashian Oreo; Schwarzenegger Insurance; Brady Bet MGM; Kate McKinnon May-o; Mountain Dew Game of Thrones; e.l.f. Suits reunion; Gronk Kick #2
10. Which of these Usher songs will he sing first (Yeah, My Boo, OMG)?
(Tiebreaker: guess the total points scored by halftime)
-Leslie
Notes:
Super Bowl betting projections: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/super-bowl-gambling-records-rcna137449#:~:text=Sports-,Super%20Bowl%20gambling%20to%20smash%20records%20as%20nearly%2068%20million,which%20was%20the%20previous%20record.&text=ATLANTIC%20CITY%2C%20N.J.
Logistics of Taylor Swift getting from Tokyo to Vegas for the Super Bowl: https://ftw.usatoday.com/lists/taylor-swift-travel-tokyo-las-vegas-journey-landing-las-chiefs-super-bowl
National Anthem length: https://theathletic.com/5253081/2024/02/06/super-bowl-2024-national-anthem-betting-reba-mcentire/#:~:text=This%20year%2C%20the%20Queen%20of,only%20one%20singing%20before%20kickoff.
Super Bowl first play: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324445904578282112427300412