SUPERBOWL 53
National Anthem Analysis

RESULT: 1:48.8 UNDER & WIN!!! First brave!

As is tradition....

Nothing gets me more excited to write a 400 word post than seeing that a blog that I post on once a year has received 1,072 unique visitors this week without anything new being posted for 365 days.

Last year's prediction for P!nk to go under 120 seconds gives us a 7-2 all-time anthem record and 3 in a row. Lets keep it rolling.

Gladys Knight, a seven-time Grammy Award winner, will sing the national anthem at Mercedes-Benz Stadium ahead of kickoff, as CBS and the NFL announced earlier this month. It marks a Super Sunday homecoming for the Atlanta-born Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.

What do we know about Ms. Knight? From my extensive research, we now know she is African-american, 74 years old, and was part of the Motown movement of the 60s and 70s. We also know youtube only has one performance of Ms. Knight performing the Anthem; it's audio only. Listen for yourself below, but in 1991 when Ms. Knight was 46, she belted the Anthem in 93 seconds.

The Bet:
Line 109 Seconds O -145 / U +105

Hit the Under

1. Ms. Knight is the oldest performer in the post Cher era to perform the Anthem at a Superbowl. I seriously doubt she holds notes like the likes of Keyes, Hudson and Beyonce before her.

2. Past performance of 93 seconds gives me hope that she will perform the Anthem with class and not with disrespect like Keyes.

3. She's 74! She has a 90 second bladder! Either she goes under or she splashes the front row. 

4. My U.S. and European models suggest 105 seconds would have been a more appropriate line. 

5. It is always more fun to bet the under

-Anthem Enthusiast ​

SUPERBOWL 52
National Anthem Analysis

As is tradition...

This year's anthem analysis is different than others. In the past I have been able to break down previous recording artist's National Anthem trials on different stages. Typically the artist has performed at an all-star game or Disney land; we then break down the specific splits to get the best feel for the appropriate bet. This year P!nk has been chosen to represent America at Super Bowl 52 and to my dismay, based on extensive googling, she has never performed the national anthem before.

Bovada has set a line of 120 seconds based on the fact that the previous 4 of 5 years has averaged 126 seconds. Those that went over the 120 second threshold were Luke Bryan (2017), Lady Gaga (2016), Idina Menzel (2015), and Alicia Keyes (2013). All performers for the past 18 years provided below: 

So here is the overall thought process.

1. Does the performer have a huge singing voice to extend notes? Absolutely not!  P!nk isn't 20 anymore. This 38 year old, mother of two, is more of a "lyric talker" than a true singer. Check out how "Mom Jean" P!nk performed at last Sunday's Grammys.

2. How likely will the performer make it a theatrical performance and hold notes? Fairly likely. P!nk is most known for her in the air moment at the 2010 Glitter in the Air Grammys.

The Bet:
Line 120 Seconds O -175 / U +145

Hit the Under

1. Watch Christiana Agulara's performance in 2011. While she did forget some words, its hard to imagine P!nk out singing Christiana. 

2. Mom Jeans - anyone that wears Mom Jeans to the Grammy's simply is not ready for the Anthem's prestigious stage.

3. My internal models suggest 112 would have been a more appropriate line. 

4. It is always more fun to bet the under

-Anthem Enthusiast ​

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SUPERBOWL 51
National Anthem Analysis

As is tradition...

One brave! Everyone knows the rules! Or at least I thought you did. As Anthem's are concerned you would think an 11 second victory would have been enough for my faithful to call or text their praise. 5 wins and just 2 losses in our last 7 Anthems, tens of thousands maybe millions won over that period of time, you would think a thank you very much would have been in order.

All week I had been screaming from the rooftops, that a line of 140 seconds, the highest of its kind in the post Cher era [1] was absurd. I went from one speaking engagement to another, calling in to morning drive talk shows, telling hosts "first time long time and we have a lock on our hands".

​We all saw the writing on the walls. A line of 140 would have suggested that her "Last Gleaming" split would have taken 33 seconds. Wrong! Right out of the gate we're up +7 seconds. "Banner yet wave" in 18 seconds? Way too quick. And a "Land of the free" in 8 seconds? Break the fucking book!

So for me and those loved ones by my side, even though Gaga belted for another 11.8 seconds, I was chalking the sheets early, with a plus $500 in the win column and getting ready for a coin toss. Expecting to receive hundreds of congratulations texts with balloons and confetti displayed all over my iphone, to my surprise, moments after Ms. Gaga's performance ended, a flurry of fear, anger and confusion awaited my inbox. Some how, my Anthemites had thought we had lost our under bet by 0.8 seconds, because everyone had forgotten the only rule that matters as it relates to the Super Bowl's greatest prop bet on the board; the Anthem ends after the FIRST BRAVE!

So we press on to Houston, host to Super Bowl 51, where Luke Bryan will sing the 18th rendition of the Star Spangled Banner (in the Post Cher Era) while Kriston Lee Pumphrey on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf will perform the Anthem in sign language.

​

​Performance 1: September, 16, 2012 – Chicagoland Speedway
Duration: 119 Seconds

Performance 2: US Bank Stadium
Duration: 149 Seconds

Performance 3: MLB All-star game 2012
Duration: 130 Seconds?

The Bet:
Line 130 Seconds

Hit the Under right now!!! 

1. Same as last year, only one performer has ever gone over 130 seconds. Watch Keys' performance [4] and get a sense of how long 130 seconds is to sing 81 words. 

2. If Gaga couldn't stretch it to 130 seconds, do you really think Luke Bryan can?

3. Historically, men perform quicker than women!

4. It is always more fun to bet the under

-Anthem Enthusiast 

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SUPERBOWL 50
National Anthem Analysis

As is tradition...

In the days after the body of Teresa Halbah was discovered, the Manitowoc County Sheriffs Department committed all of its resources to framing the murder and mutilation of Teresa Halbah on Steven Avery. After watching “Making a Murderer”, it begs the question, did they even consider Idina Menzel? Given the “Frozen” star’s disgraceful performance of the National Anthem at last year’s super bowl, rather than coercing a confession out of Brendan Dassey, why didn’t Lieutenant Link focus on Menzel? - someone who actually knows how to butcher and mutilate something so pure and decent as the "anthem".

I have spent a lot of time reflecting on last year's anthem flop. As you remember, I caused tens of thousands of dollars to press the under of 121 seconds. In the 15 attempts previously during the Post Cher Era[1], only 2 witches had gone over such hurdle. The first was Jennifer Hudson's ungodly performance in '09 and the second was Alicia Keys' '13 performance; haven't listened to "Empire State of Mind" since Ms. Keys' Black Sunday Performance[2]. That was until Idina's performance last year, which lasted 124 seconds.

While I take full responsibility, Ms. Menzel surprised all of us when she spent a full 19 seconds during the nine word fourth leg of the anthem. To put that in perspective, no women had ever sang those nine simple words in more than 16 seconds and Menzel herself had been averaging 14.66 seconds on her previous three attempts; those 4.33 seconds were enough to declare us losers and Menzel a beloved c**t[3].

But we press on to Santa Clara, host to Super Bowl 50, where Lady Gaga will sing the 17th rendition of the Star Spangled Banner (in the Post Cher Era) while Marlee Matlin stands by her side signing the anthem.

Performance 1: June 28, 2013 – NYC
Duration: 134 Seconds

In Gaga's only recorded performance online, she clocked in at 134 seconds, which would be second longest (in the Post Cher Era). What is interesting about Gaga's length is that she frankly did it in a fairly elegant way. No awkward pauses like Idina last year, she didn't recreate the melody and cadence like Keys in '13. Gaga just simply sang the shit out of the 81 word anthem. In my years tracking the anthem and scrutinizing each performance, I frankly haven't seen an athlete perform at a higher level than Gaga during her Gay Pride 2013 Rally in NYC.

The Bet:
Line 140 Seconds

 Hit the Under right now!!! 

1. Last time the line was set high - Renee Fleming in 2014 the line was set at 145 seconds- I told all my followers to go big on the under and we won by 31 seconds.

2. No performer has ever gone over 138 seconds. Watch Keys' performance [4] and get a sense of how long 140 seconds is to sing 81 words. 

3. A six second gap between her online performance (above) and the line is bigger than it seems.

4. It is always more fun to bet the under

Now listen, Lady Gaga is an absolute circus freak.  She could easily decide to change outfits mid-anthem or make-out with a midget, but history says bet the under.

-Anthem Enthusiast 

​Update since posting the article Wednesday:

Bovada has moved its under line to -200
Bettordays has moved its over under to 136.5

Bookies are scared!

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SUPERBOWL XLIX
National Anthem Analysis

As is tradition…

While the national media focuses on deflategate, football’s true fans begin focusing on what really matters: the over under for the national anthem. Since 2010, I have been giving advice on this subject matter, correctly picking four of five anthems. Our loss came during Black Sunday 2013 at the hands of Alicia Keys whose dreadful performance left those who bet the under calling for someone’s resignation. “Better luck next year” and boy did we find it. In 2014, staring at a 145 second line, the largest line ever set in Anthem history and seven seconds longer than the longest performance in Anthem history, my followers, the “Anthemers,” loaded up on the under. After 114 seconds, Renee Fleming finished her rendition 31 seconds under the line set by Vegas and Anthemers cashed in on a well-executed bet.

Back by popular demand are the Anthem splits from the Post Cher Era[1].

[1] Post Cher era defined as any anthem performed after Cher’s performance at the 1999 Superbowl
[2] Reference to 138 second performance

[3] ​

[4] ​

[1] Post Cher era defined as any anthem performed after Cher’s performance at the 1999 Superbowl

National Anthem Over/Under 121 seconds

For 2015, the Superbowl has chosen Idina Menzel to perform the National Anthem. Born Idina Kim Mentzel from Syosset, New York, Idina is known for her portrayal of Maureen Johnson in Rent, Elphaba in Wicked, and Shelby Corcoran in Glee. Ms. Menzel is best known as the voice of Elsa in Frozen. 

Idina is no rookie to the National Anthem. I was able to find three past taped performances online. 

Performance 1: December 29, 2007 – Giants Stadium
Duration: 95 Seconds

What did we learn? She knows how to sing the Anthem fast. During this performance, she finished in 95 seconds, which would rank 4th fastest in the Post Cher Era. But not only did she finish it fast, but she also started fast, not easy for big a vocalist like Idina. By the quarter pole, “Flag was Still There”, she clocked in at 60 seconds flat, which would rank second fastest to the US Military in the Post Cher Era. 

Performance 2: July 4, 2014 – Hudson River
Duration: 156 Seconds

Stanley Hudson from The Office said it best when he said to Michael Scott that women say more in their pauses then they do in their words.  On July 4th this year, Idina performed at the Macy’s New York City Fireworks Spectacular. To the average Anthemer, a duration of 156 seconds would lead you to believe that the over is a lock; however, there are a couple things to keep in mind.

She was performing to a choreographed firework display, there were times during this performance where she literally stopped singing for 10-12 seconds at a time to allow for massive bursts of fireworks to appear. In addition, she repeated lyrics more than once to add effect, which also added time to her performance. In a more normalized Superbowl setting, the experts who work with me agree, the correct timing of her performance, straight-lining her pauses and repetitive lyrics, which are viewed as low probability occurrences, was 109 seconds. 

Performance 3: July 16, 2014 – MLB All-Star Game
Duration: 117 Seconds

This performance will most likely mirror to her SuperBowl performance on Sunday. My first inclination from this performance was “she can’t do it much slower!” She held notes extremely long, took unnecessary pauses for a performer of her quality, and waited 4-5 seconds to allow for a fly-over, before finishing the last verse. 

Conclusion

My bet is the under. When it was announced Idina would be the performer, she was interviewed. During that interview she discussed how she hoped to emulate the late Whitney Houston’s rendition back in 1991. That rendition, for those of you wondering, was 116 seconds.  Ms. Houston sang the Anthem in my opinion, perfectly, but more importantly with grace and not with the rifts or repetitive lyrics, which Ms. Keys and Ms. Hudson made infamous during their renditions. I believe Idina will do the same. She will learn from some of the failures exhibited by those women mentioned above and embody what Whitney would have wanted to hear: a perfectly sung 114-second rendition. 

Plus, nothing is more exciting than betting the under (I promise).

Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose!