Super Bowl 2017: Opening Odds for Patriots vs. Falcons, Top Prop Bets History

The year 1967, when Super Bowl I took place, was a simpler time on the gridiron. People didn't hold stopwatches during the national anthem, and Gatorade was solely meant for consumption.

Nowadays, the Super Bowl is big business for everyone, most especially the individuals who go to Las Vegas and bet their life savings on whether the opening coin toss lands heads or tails.

Here's hoping no one is desperate enough to do that, but a fun list of prop bets awaits folks for Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons.

As of this writing, those props are not available just yet, but we'll take a look at the odds for the game (New England is minus-three, and the total is 58.5) and some props of the past, per OddsShark.

Quick Odds Breakdown

As it currently stands, the over-under for this game is the largest figure in Super Bowl history, per OddsShark. The previous record was 57 for Super Bowl XLIV, when Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints beat Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31-17.

This Super Bowl marks one of 14 times the spread has been three points or fewer, per OddsShark. Oddly enough, in seven of the previous 13 occasions, the final score differential turned out to be 10 or more points. 

Also, in five other instances, a double-digit favorite ended up losing the game outright.

Therefore, a close spread does not guarantee a tight game, and a double-digit spread doesn't foreshadow a blowout for the favorite.

For this Super Bowl, the pick here is New England (-3) and the under, as the Pats are too good and both defenses are a little underrated, but expect a battle between two outstanding teams.

Prop Bet History

Every year, we can expect the basics, such as an over-under on the national anthem, the result of the coin toss and the color of the Gatorade dumped on the winning head coach. These are in addition to Super Bowl MVP odds, picks on who scores first, etc.

Let's focus on recent history for the first three.

National Anthem

According to OddsShark, the average amount of time for the last 11 national anthems at the Super Bowl has been one minute, 58 seconds. Alicia Keys had the longest in that time span (2:30), while Billy Joel sang the shortest (1:30).

John Salangsang/Associated Press

County star Luke Bryan is singing the national anthem this year.

Bryan took 2:27 to sing the national anthem at U.S. Bank Stadium in August, 2:12 at Madison Square Garden in 2014 and 2:13 at FarmBorough Festival in 2015.

It looks like Bryan might want to give Keys a run for her money. If the mark sits around two minutes flat, take the over.

Coin Toss

A coin toss in the NFL is going to result in one of the following scenarios:

• The coin lands on heads.
• The coin lands on tails.
• The coin does not flip at all, leading to a redo.
• The coin lands tails, and the call was tails, but the referee heard "heads" and gives the ball to the other team.
• The coin lands on its edge, which hasn't happened in recorded NFL history but certainly has in soccer.

For the purpose of betting, it's either heads or tails. Predictably, history tells us it's a near 50-50 split, with tails winning 26 of the 50 Super Bowls, per OddsShark.

That being said, if you look at the results year over year, you'll notice how streaky the coin toss results can be. Tails won eight of nine years at one point, for instance, while heads had a streak of five in a row.

If you really want to get an edge on the field, check out Super Bowl LI referee Carl Cheffers' gamelogs on Pro Football Reference and see if you could find whether his tosses came up heads or tails.

Unfortunately, the actual results of the coin toss seem to escape those box scores, but if you're into seeking an advantage, dig into that for a shot.

(For the record, unless you find that Cheffers has tossed 13 straight coins landing in tails, which would be peculiar, don't bet on this unless you are looking for a three-second pregame rush.) 

Gatorade Shower

From Super Bowls XXXV through L, orange and clear are tied for the shower lead at four apiece, per OddsShark.

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

In terms of picking a winner this year, it looks like Falcons head coach Dan Quinn got yellow Gatorade dumped on him after winning the NFC Championship, so if you like Atlanta and are comfortable knowing that you are dealing with a one-shower sample size, put your money on yellow.

We have a little more to work with for the Patriots, who dumped Gatorade in two of four Super Bowl wins. Super Bowl XXXIX ended with head coach Bill Belichick getting a clear shower. Ten years later, it was both blue and yellow.

I suppose the lesson here is not to bet on what color the Gatorade bath will be. When in doubt, don't depend on minuscule sample sizes.