Super Bowl LI Predictions Including Prop Bets

On the eve of Super Bowl LI (51 for those of who are wondering where the Roman numeral X's went), predictions and bets are being placed on just about anything and everything. Not just the score, but things such who scores first, who wins the coin flip, and even the over/under on the time it takes to sing the national anthem. If you're in Las Vegas, these are referred to as prop bets and are all things you can gamble on. You're probably able to place similar bets on sports gambling websites as well.

Not immune to this completely, while not placing money down on these various facets of the game, here is the Millhouse list of Super Bowl LI predictions.

Score/Winner: Falcons 34 Patriots 24...
Many may scoff at this prediction, but look at the facts. The Falcons have a more potent offense than the Patriots. Matt Ryan had a career year, the backfield is full of weapons, and they have possibly their best receiving corps in team history.

On the other hand, many act like Tom Brady is the best quarterback ever. Sportscasters have been pointing out that Brady is extremely accurate, throwing only two interceptions the whole season. What many don't want to see is that Brady averages an interception every game when it comes to the playoffs. That's not counting the fumbles (or non-fumbles if you're a Raiders fan). Brady isn't the clutch-performer many think he is. Add that to the fact that he lost Rob Gronkowski, his favorite target, to injury and you can see that the passing game of the Patriots is potentially flawed. Add that to the poor running game they've displayed in the playoffs this year (Lewis 2.7 yards-per-carry; Blount 3.3 yards-per-carry; Brady -2 yards total) and there are holes everywhere for the Falcons defense to expose.

MVP: Matt Ryan...
People love voting for the winning quarterback as an MVP in the Super Bowl. Matt Ryan is poised to be that MVP while throwing to targets such as Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu, and to his backs in the flat.

First Score: The Patriots when Tom Brady hits Chris Hogan...
Despite scoring first, they won't be able to stop the Falcons from scoring more.

First Play: A 2-yard run up the middle by LaGarrette Blount.

First Turnover: Ricardo Allen intercepts a Tom Brady pass.

First Sack: Vic Beasley sacks Tom Brady.

First to Challenge a Play: Bill Belichick in the second quarter

Score at Halftime: Falcons 14 Patriots 14

Leading Rusher: Devonta Freeman with 108 yards rushing.

Leading Receiver: Julio Jones with 138 yards receiving.

First Song Lady Gaga will Perform at Halftime: "Just Dance" seems like a good song to get the energy flowing, but "Born this Way" may end up being the winner with the political atmosphere in the United States and her stance on LGBTQ rights.

Guest Singer Most Likely to Sing Along with Lady Gaga: Tony Bennett.

Length of Luke Bryan's National Anthem Performance: Not being the same time of singer that Lady Gaga or even Whitney Houston is, Luke Bryan will most likely sing the national anthem straight up and not embellish on it. A good number would be 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

Heads or Tails: Tails...but I could be wrong and it could be heads.

Color of sports drink (Gatorade) that is Poured on Winning Coach's Head: Red

Chance Donald Trump will Mention the Super Bowl: He already has, promoting an interview he's doing on Fox News with Bill O'Reilly just before the Super Bowl. Beyond that, if the Patriots do win, Trump will almost definitely congratulate his buddy, Tom Brady.

Miscellaneous Stats: Matt Ryan 330 yards passing along with 3 touchdown passes; Tom Brady 368 yards passing along with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions; Devonta Freeman 108 yards rushing and 32 receiving along with a rushing touchdown; Tevin Coleman 48 yards rushing and 3 receptions for 67 yards including one touchdown reception; Chris Hogan 7 receptions for 123 yards and 1 touchdown reception; Julio Jones 138 yards receiving from 10 receptions and one touchdown reception; Deion Jones 41 yards rushing; Julian Edelman 5 receptions for 110 yards receiving and 1 touchdown reception; Taylor Gabriel 4 receptions for 52 yards; Vic Beasley 6 tackles along with 1 sack; Dont'a Hightower 7 tackles; Stephen Gostkowski 1 for 2 in field goals; Matt Bryant 2 for 2 in field goals

Super Bowl Pay To Play

With the new season only starting less than a week ago, the NFL has already taken some major bumps this season. Beyond the most recent developments in the Ray Rice incident, the NFL recently announced that it wants musicians/artists to pay to play during the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Citing free publicity and bumps in ticket sales for up and coming tours, the NFL claims that the music artist is the biggest winner.

First off, the point of the music artist to perform at the halftime show is to retain the viewers while the gameplay is on pause. Without the halftime show, just as with many regular season games, fans use this time to grab food, talk, hang out with friends, and various other things which take them away from the television, effectively minimizing the impact the companies who advertise during halftime have. Without the music artist, it's hard for the NFL to justify $4 million for 30 second spots during the downtime from the game. The NFL would like to argue that the performance itself is a form of advertisement, but more fairly, it can be said that the advertisers are drawn in because of the music performance.

Many of the artists that perform at these shows can draw in as high a million dollars plus for one of their own concert performances, but perform three to four songs for free during the halftime show. Performing for free, while the NFL reaps the benefits. Because of the music performance, the female demographic is more likely to watch the game, especially at halftime. The same can also be said for non-NFL fans who are fans of the music artist performing, but not necessarily football in general. These are viewers that the sponsors hit, that normally would be lost if the halftime show consisted only of the standard commentators talking about the highlights of the game to that point.

Years ago, before the NFL stepped up it's halftime show productions, the Fox Network stole away many of the possible halftime viewers by airing an In Living Color special that aired exclusively during halftime. By counterprogramming against the Super Bowl, Fox effectively minimized the impact by the advertisers who (over)paid for 30 second spots on CBS during the halftime show.

During 60's, 70's, and 80's, the NFL primarily used marching bands and generic music to entertain those watching the halftime show. This was a dead zone for advertisers, wishing to wait until the second half to resume their advertising. It was not possible for the NFL to justify charging $4 million (or the equivalent to those particular years). Once the NFL started to invite music artists to perform free of charge during the halftime, they were able to charge a premium for advertising.

Various unions including the NFL Players Association and American Federation of Musicians have also come out publicly against the NFL's proposed idea. Twenty-two unions in all have sided against the NFL citing that no one should ever have to pay to work. For a musician, even if they love what they do, performing is their job.

The trade off for performing for free is the potential bump of people who might pay for the musician's music or attend one of their concerts. It's a fair trade considering how much money the NFL makes from advertisers when the game isn't even being played. It's better for both sides, especially the NFL which will never want to go back to marching bands performing at halftime while losing millions of dollars to the lack of halftime advertising.

Photo credit by IndianBio uploaded to Wikipedia.