Pull your sorry butts away from the poker tables for just a few moments and consider another great American pastime -- Football. The one that uses the egg shaped ball? Seattle and Pittsburgh line up for the biggest game of the year... the Super Bowl.
From what I understand, the Super Bowl garnishes the most sports bets of the year. It's no surprise given the weeks of hype leading up to the big event. They've got bets on everything from point spread to who will win the coin toss. What's the over/under on how many lunatics will go streaking across the field? Or does that just happen in Baseball?
At any rate, here is my take. The line last I checked was Steelers -4, and the over/under was 47 points. For the folks in need of a quick sports betting guide, that simply means that according to the Vegas bookies, the Steelers are favored to win by 4 points or more, and the total points scored in the game should be 47.
If you chose to bet on Seattle, as long as they do not lose by more than a field goal, you win your bet. If you take Pittsburgh, not only do they have to win, but they have to win by 5 points or more. If they win by exactly 4, it's a "push" and noone wins anything. (Expect that line to move to 3 and 1/2 or something similar, before game time! This ensures that a push is impossible, since there is no way you can score a half a point!) If you wanted to make a bet on points scored, you just choose whether you believe they'll score more or less points than 47.
My take? I'd take Seattle and the points. Why? I believe they have a better running game, and that has been both teams strength most of the season. Both teams have excellent defense, which will minimize that run strength to some extent. I feel it'll then come down to two important factors. Whose quarterback preforms well and coaching. I've gotta give the nod to Seattle on both of those counts. Their QB is much more experienced and their coach has much more Super Bowl experience. Between that and a 3 points cushion, my bet would go for Seattle.
The over/under is a pretty easy choice for me. The teams averaged a combined 52 points a game during the season, while holding opponents to an average 33 points per game. That would logically lead us to believe that the point range would be 33-55. Given that both defenses are solid, I've gotta think that they'll score on the lower end of that range.
Finally, I believe sports betting should be done for pure entertainment. It takes alot...alot....of work to actually educate oneself on enough angles to beat the bookmaker on a regular basis and show a profit at sports betting. Trust me, I'm not willing to do that. Beating online poker is sooo much easier!
Best of luck with your wagers! Now back to the poker tables wid' ye!
