Second thoughts

Sunday, February 2, 2014

‘Fridge’ didn’t lose his shirt with this play

What will Bruno Mars wear on his head? How many times will Peyton Manning call “Omaha”? Will Knowshon Moreno cry during the national anthem?

These wagers are meant to capitalize on the spectacle that is the Super Bowl. It’s such an enormous event that people are willing to gamble on what color Gatorade will be poured on the winning coach. Indeed, according to a New York Times story, prop bets may account for as much as 40 percent of the $100 million wagered in Las Vegas casinos on today’s Super Bowl.

So whom do we have to thank for this gambling sensation?

William “The Refrigerator” Perry.

The Fridge, as the Chicago Bears defensive lineman was called, had become a phenomenon during his rookie 1985 season as Coach Mike Ditka used him as a running back in goal-line situations. The hype around Perry was so large leading up to the Super Bowl that legendary bookmaker Jimmy Vaccaro posted a bet at 40-to-1 odds for whether Perry would score a touchdown in the big game.

As Ditka downplayed Perry’s role the odds rose to as high as 75-to-1. But once the line gained national publicity, money began flowing into the wager. The line dropped tremendously, and by game time it was closer to 5-to-1.

Sure enough, in the third quarter of Chicago’s rout of New England, Perry plowed over for a 1-yard score. Putting aside the fact that many fans and players wanted Walter Payton, the team’s star running back, to score in his first (and only) Super Bowl, Perry’s score validated the prop bet.

“I opened the number at 40-to-1, and by kickoff it was all the way down to 5-to-1,” Vaccaro told the Sporting News. “We got beat up pretty good on the prop itself, but between all the hype from the national media after the prop was sent out on the wire and the lingering effects afterwards with follow-up stories, we got some pretty good attention.”

Prop bets have been flying high since that year, to the point where now people can bet on whether the Red Hot Chili Peppers will play shirtless at halftime.

Thanks, Fridge.

Doh!

Thirteen national NFL “experts” correctly picked a Denver Broncos-Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl before the start of this season, according to PunditTracker.com. But one famed cartoon show foresaw the matchup nearly 8 1/2 years ago.

In the “Bonfire of the Manatees” episode of The Simpsons, which first aired Sept. 11, 2005, the Broncos and Seahawks met in the Super Bowl, with Denver taking home a 19-14 victory.

That prediction also wasn’t far off from what actually transpired during the 2005 NFL season. The Seahawks did end up reaching Super Bowl XL, where they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who defeated Denver in the AFC Championship Game.

Super singer

From RJ Currie of sportsdeke. com: “American opera star and soprano Renee Fleming will sing the national anthem at this year’s Super Bowl. That’s one way to start the game on a high note.”Quote of the day “You can tell his high energy level just by the

way he chews gum.” Former Arkansas receivers coach Jesse Branch on Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll, a former Razorbacks graduate assistant

Sports, Pages 22 on 02/02/2014