A new national anthem controversy: Did Gladys Knight go over or under the prop bet?
ATLANTA — Once again, we have a little national anthem controversy in the NFL. But this time, it’s not the players — it’s the singer.
Gladys Knight sung a gorgeous rendition of the national anthem to open Super Bowl Sunday night. Listen closely to the final seconds:
Hear that? Knight appears to say “brave” twice. So here’s the question: Is the song over when the singer hits all the words, or is the song over when the singer stops singing?
Some books are grading the national anthem as an UNDER, ruling that the song ended before Gladys Knight said "brave" for a second time.
— OddsShark (@OddsShark) February 3, 2019
For the purposes of prop betting, it’s not an inconsequential question. Knight’s first time singing “brave” kept the song under the over/under of 1:50, the most common prop bet time. But the second “brave” took her well past the limit. Bovada, for instance, has posted her official time at 1:49.
As we discussed here earlier this week, nobody’s going to get rich or go bankrupt on the national anthem prop bet; most books keep limits somewhere between $50 and $500. But when you’re talking about bettors and their money, there’s no gray area allowed, and no “close enough” either.
UPDATE: At least one sportsbook, BetOnline.ag, decided to just make everyone winners:
National Anthem length grading update:
Our rules stated clock ended at end of first "Brave". That went about 1:49. Therefore the Under is the official winner.
However…
We have decided to pay out the Over as well. Both sides win. Thank this guy> @BetOnlineBurns
— Dave Mason (@DaveMasonBOL) February 4, 2019
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
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