Reba McEntire, the iconic figure in country music, came through for numerous bettors with a surprising twist during her rendition of the national anthem at Super Bowl LVIII.
As the wave of sports betting legalization sweeps across the nation, sportsbooks are offering bettors the chance to wager on various elements of major sporting spectacles. In some cases, it doesn’t even relate specifically to the game. Among these wagers during the Super Bowl was the duration of the national anthem
Bookmakers set the over/under at 90.5 seconds. Compared to past Super Bowls, that over/under is a little lower than average. Most expected McEntire would give us one of the quickest national anthems in Super Bowl history.
Initially, it seemed McEntire would swiftly finish well below this mark. However, as she approached the final line, she unexpectedly repeated “the brave” after singing, “And the home of the brave.” This fleeting repetition pushed the performance beyond the 90.5-second threshold.
BetOnline has confirmed that the clock on the national anthem halts once the final note is sung, sealing the fate of these wagers. As expected, the betting world was up in arms over this. If McEntire hadn’t added the extra words, anyone with the under would have cashed. Instead, those who took the under ended up winning the wager.
In a way, it was a fitting way to begin the Super Bowl festivities. The game itself could have also gone either way with the Chiefs pulling out an overtime win over the 49ers.
