
Parlay and Spread Bets Explained: Finally, It Makes Sense
If you've ever caught yourself muttering something like this, you're not alone. The world of…
I’ll never forget the first time I heard about someone betting on the Gatorade color at the Super Bowl. I thought my friend was joking. “Wait, you’re telling me people actually put money on which color Gatorade gets dumped on the winning coach?” I asked. He laughed and showed me the betting line on his phone—orange was the favorite that year. I shook my head in disbelief. But by the time the final whistle blew and blue Gatorade splashed all over the coach, I understood the hype. My friend’s $50 bet had just paid out $250, and he was celebrating like he had hit the jackpot.
That moment introduced me to the weird, wonderful world of Super Bowl prop bets. Unlike traditional wagers on the point spread or total score, prop bets, short for proposition bets, cover just about anything you can imagine—and plenty of things you’d never dream of. Some of them are based on actual gameplay, like who will score the first touchdown, while others venture into truly bizarre territory. Over the years, I’ve come across some prop bets so wild they deserve their own Hall of Fame.
One of the most popular and enduring Super Bowl prop bets is the coin toss. It’s the ultimate 50/50 wager—literally a flip of a coin. People take it seriously, though. I’ve seen bettors analyze historical data, as if the outcome of past Super Bowl coin tosses could predict the future. (Spoiler: It can’t.) Some even bring superstition into it. “Tails never fails,” my buddy Jake says every year, even though I’ve seen him lose with that philosophy more times than I can count. Still, he keeps betting on it, convinced that one day, the universe will reward his loyalty to tails.
Then there’s the national anthem prop bet, which focuses on how long the performance will last. Every year, sportsbooks set a time line—say, two minutes—and bettors can wager on whether the anthem will go over or under that time. What’s wild about this one is the lengths some people go to for research. There are bettors who analyze rehearsal footage, timing past performances by the same singer, and even trying to sneak into the stadium during rehearsals to gather intel. It’s like a James Bond mission, except the end goal is a payday on whether someone holds the word “brave” for 12 seconds or 14.
Of course, halftime show prop bets are a category all their own. These bets cover everything from which song will be performed first to what color outfit the headliner will wear. When Shakira and Jennifer Lopez performed in 2020, I remember a friend losing his mind when “Hips Don’t Lie” wasn’t the opening song, despite being the overwhelming favorite. Meanwhile, another friend cashed in on a bet that J.Lo would wear silver. “Fashion betting,” she said with a grin, “is my specialty.”
Some of the strangest Super Bowl prop bets don’t even involve the game itself. One year, a sportsbook offered odds on whether a fan would run onto the field during the game. Believe it or not, people actually placed bets on it. Rumor has it that one bettor tried to stage the stunt himself to cash in, but he got caught before he could make it onto the field. Lesson learned: Don’t try to rig a prop bet, especially one that involves breaking the law.
Another infamous category is the Gatorade shower bet. After the Super Bowl ends, the winning team usually dumps a cooler of Gatorade (or some other sports drink) on their coach. Bettors can wager on the color of the liquid, and every year, speculation runs wild. Will it be orange, the most common choice? Or maybe clear water, which has occasionally made an appearance? I’ve seen people scour social media for clues, analyzing photos of team practices to see what color Gatorade is on the sidelines. It’s a level of dedication that borders on obsession, but when you’re chasing a big payout, I guess no detail is too small.
Then there are the truly bizarre one-off prop bets that pop up from time to time. One year, a sportsbook offered a bet on whether a player would propose to his girlfriend on the field after the game. Another time, there was a wager on whether the power would go out during the game, a nod to the infamous “Blackout Bowl” in 2013 when the lights went out for over half an hour. I even saw a bet on whether a certain celebrity would be shown in the crowd during the broadcast. Spoiler: The celebrity didn’t show up, and half the bar groaned as their bets went up in smoke.
For the more serious bettors, there are player prop bets, which focus on individual performances. These might include how many passing yards a quarterback will throw for, how many catches a wide receiver will make, or whether a running back will score a touchdown. While these bets are grounded in actual gameplay, they can still be unpredictable. I once bet on a quarterback to throw for over 300 yards, only for him to get injured in the first quarter. That was a tough pill to swallow, but hey, that’s the risk you take.
Despite their often ridiculous nature, prop bets have become a huge part of Super Bowl culture. They’re a way to engage with the game on a different level, turning even the smallest moments into high-stakes drama. When you’ve got money riding on the length of the national anthem, you’re suddenly hyper-focused on every note. When you’ve bet on the color of Gatorade, you find yourself yelling at the TV during the postgame celebration, hoping for a glimpse of the cooler before it gets dumped.
For me, prop bets are about fun and community. They bring people together, spark conversations, and create moments that you’ll remember long after the game is over. I’ll never forget the time my friend screamed, “BLUE! IT’S BLUE!” when the Gatorade shower hit, or the time we all held our breath during the national anthem, timing it down to the second.
Super Bowl prop bets might be wild, outrageous, and sometimes downright absurd, but that’s exactly what makes them so much fun. After all, the Super Bowl is more than just a game—it’s a cultural event, and prop bets are part of the spectacle. So, the next time you’re watching the big game, don’t be surprised if someone in the room starts yelling about Gatorade colors or halftime outfits. They’re probably just riding the prop bet rollercoaster—and loving every second of it.