We heard through the grapevine that the odds for the national anthem at Super Bowl 53 were released.
And you don’t have to take the midnight train to Georgia to put money on this NFL prop bet either.
Seven-time Grammy Award-winner Gladys Knight will perform the national anthem in her hometown of Atlanta prior to the Super Bowl 53 kickoff on February 3, 2019, and you can bet on the over/under for how long she sings.
BetOnline put out the odds for the over/under prop bet on her rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” and has set 1:50 for the total time sung by the “Empress of Soul.”
Length of US National Anthem by Gladys Knight
- Over: 1 Minute 50 seconds +100
- Under: 1 Minute 50 seconds -140
According to the BetOnline’s description of the prop bet, Gladys Knight must sing the national anthem for the line to have action. The timer starts on the first note of the song and stops when “Brave” ends for the first time.
It’s good that BetOnline put out the specific details for the prop bet. Past national anthem performances have put various sportsbooks around the globe in a bind by not making the line clear and failing to detail exactly what “length” actually means.
And you only need to go back Lady Gaga’s performance at Super Bowl 50 to see why the specifics are important.
At the end of the song, she said “Brave” twice, which took the length from around 2:09 at the end of the first “Brave” to 2:22 by the end of the second “Brave”—pushing the time over the 2:20 mark listed at sportsbooks around the world, drawing the ire out of bettors around the globe that bet on the under.
Then there was the Super Bowl 45 national anthem controversy in 2011 when Christina Aguilera didn’t say the word “ramparts” during her performance, which caused a lot of sportsbooks to grade it as a push.
Since then, BetOnline and other reputable sportsbooks have made it a point to detail how a bet on the national anthem will be graded.
Below you’ll find the song length for every national anthem performance at the Super Bowl, dating back to 2000.
- Super Bowl 52: Pink 1:52
- Super Bowl 51: Luke Bryan 2:04
- Super Bowl 50: Lady Gaga 2:09
- Super Bowl 49: Idina Menzel 2:04
- Super Bowl 48: Renee Fleming 1:54
- Super Bowl 47: Alicia Keys 2:35
- Super Bowl 46: Kelly Clarkson 1:34
- Super Bowl 45: Christina Aguilera 1:54
- Super Bowl 44: Carrie Underwood 1:47
- Super Bowl 43: Jennifer Hudson 2:10
- Super Bowl 42: Jordin Sparks 1:54
- Super Bowl 41: Billy Joel 1:30
- Super Bowl 40: Aaron Neville & Aretha Franklin 2:08
- Super Bowl 39: U.S. Military Academy Choirs 1:52
- Super Bowl 38: Beyonce 2:09
- Super Bowl 37: Dixie Chicks 1:36
- Super Bowl 36: Mariah Carey 1:56
- Super Bowl 35: Backstreet Boys 1:50
- Super Bowl 34: Faith Hill 2:01
BetOnline also posted the traditional Super Bowl 53 prop bet on the coin toss, which is held immediately following the national anthem performance.
Coin Toss
- Heads -105
- Tails -105
Gladys Knight will sing the national anthem at Super Bowl 53 just before the 6:30 pm ET kickoff time on February 3, 2019. The game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia and CBS will host the broadcast.