Super Bowl Weather: Something To Bet On?

Here's the ultimate prop bet...2 1/2 or 54 degrees!

Let's face it. I'm a bit nervous...the Las Vegas bookies are the best forecasters in the world. So, it'll be interesting to see which forecast comes true. Will it be my forecast of 54 degrees at kick off or their point spread claiming the Packers will win by 2 1/2. We'll see when Super Bowl XVL finishes up on Sunday night.

In the meantime, anyone lucky enough on the way to Arlington for the game will get a giant, arctic smack in the face (check out the slide show). The Dallas forecast highs will only get to the upper 20s with freezing rain. This is the same system will hit us tonight with freezing rain/rain and snow.

"SUPER WEATHER"

It got me to thinking about Super Bowl weather history. Last year, I saw a blog that put together a nice round up of stats:

• 17 of 42 Bowls Played indoors
• 16 of 42 Bowls had a Trace or More of Rain
• 2 Bowls had Snow on Game Day (1982,2006)

• 1 Bowl played during an Ice Storm (2000)
• 
Warmest High Temperature of 82° (1973,2003)

• Coldest High Temp for Dome Game 16° (1982)

• Coldest High Temp for Non-Dome Game 49° (1985)

• Wettest Super Bowl .92 inches (2007)
• 
Outside Games With High Wind Gust (1980, 1984, 1989,2007)

"PROP BETS"

However, since the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium has a retractable dome, I'm betting that the weather will be 72 degrees if necessary. On the subject of waging, it's at a much faster pace than last year because of the legendary nature of the two franchises.

Of course, the real prop bets are as crazy as ever. People can bet on things as simple as heads or tails at the coin toss or as complicated as whether there will be more sacks in the Super Bowl or shots on goal by Washington Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin in his team’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ovechkin is posted as a 0.5-point favorite. Here are some of the odds on 300 prop bets at the Las Vegas Hilton:

• Who will have more points: Miami Heat’s LeBron James -7.5 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
• Who will have more: Big 10 basketball teams’ points on Sunday -40.5 vs. Green Bay Packers yards
• Who will have more: Los Angeles Clippers Blake Griffin rebounds vs. Pittsburgh and Green Bay combined second quarter points
• Different Packers with Rushing Attempt: Over/Under 4
• Distance of the first punt: Over/Under 44.5
• Pass yards by Aaron Rodgers: Over/Under 270.5
• Tackles by Troy Polamalu: Over/Under 4.5
• More Penalty Yards: Pittsburgh -165 (risking $1.65 to win $1) vs. Green Bay +145 (risking $1 to win $1.45)
• First Turnover: Interception -155 (risking $1.55 to win $1) vs. Fumble +145 (risking $1 to win $1.35)
• Player to score touchdown first: Rashard Mendenhall -140 (risking $1.40 to win $1) vs. Greg Jennings +120 (risking $1 to win $1.20)

"FREEZER BOWL"

Finally, we can't talk about weather for the big game without bringing up 1981. Sure, it was the AFC Championship game but will anyone around here forget the "Freezer Bowl". I stumbled across the NFL's top ten worst "weather games" of all time. The Bengals vs Chargers contest came in at number 4! Number 4? A -59 degree wind chill and only number 4!

Here's the NFL's Top Ten if you're interested. There's a nice clip of the '81 game capturing the incredible weather. Anyway, I've got to go...I'm haven't finished scraping the ice away!