An NFL fan is being called a "genius" after going viral for guaranteeing himself a winning bet at Super Bowl LX last Sunday night before the game had even kicked off.
The Super Bowl is the biggest American sporting event of the year, but is also renowned for the crazy bets punters can take.
Among many of the wild and wacky punts available are proposition bets (commonly known as prop bets). These often centre around the performance of the players involved in the game, but wagers can be placed on events away from the field. Prop bets began in the late eighties and were popularised in the nineties to keep viewers invested during blowout games.
The Super Bowl is a Huge Worldwide Betting Event
Sam Darnold at Super Bowl LX
Betting on the Gatorade colour, for example, has become a Super Bowl tradition, with other popular bets including the coin toss and how many songs will be performed during the half-time show.
Bets for this year's Super Bowl included some offbeat examples, such as whether half-time show headliner Bad Bunny would expose a nipple or whether Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy would be removed from the stadium (as he was during the 2019 Super Bowl).
Prop bets have remained an effective tool for increasing engagement and fueling debate on social media, with videos frequently shared of living rooms erupting after the half-time act performs the song they predicted.
NFL Fan's 'Genius' Super Bowl Bet
In this instance, the video shared on social media breaks down the covert method adopted to place a winning bet on the duration of Charlie Puth's national anthem performance.
Streamer Caden Booth explained to his followers after the game that he had come up with the idea after learning that Puth had flown into San Francisco. Knowing that the star would have to rehearse his performance ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, Booth booked himself a flight and literally camped outside Levi's Stadium in California, the host of the 60th Super Bowl, with a listening device.
From outside the stadium, he listened to the national anthem rehearsal and used a stopwatch to record the exact time taken before placing his bet on the performance lasting under 117.5 seconds.
When Puth finished his performance in just under 110 seconds, Caden was a winner. He didn't reveal how much he had placed on the wager, but did admit to "hammering" the bet.
Booth has a TikTok following of 1.4million and the post has, as of Friday, received over 55,000 likes on the platform.
One comment described Booth as "genius", while another said, "You posted this after, why?"
Whether the actions were sketchy or smart is up for debate, but the video certainly highlights the absurdity of prop bets and the engagement they stir up for the Super Bowl year-on-year.
For the record, the Seattle Seahawks won the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the New England Patriots 29-13, but Booth had secured his payout long before the celebrations began.