Betting Help! When Does National Anthem Song Officially End?

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Alright OutKick family, I need your help. When betting how long the national anthem will last, what happens if the singer repeats the words at the end? Are we counting that, or are we just ending it after the first time?

Because that's what happened on Sunday with Reba McEntire and my group chats are CHAOS right now.

Prior to Sunday's Super Bowl kickoff, I texted a bunch of friends and decided to put together a pool for the over / under on Reba McEntire's national anthem length. Ya know, something that anybody could chime in on - kind of like the March Madness brackets when someone's girlfriend ends up doing the best because she  picked which mascot is the most adorable.

REBA SANG THE ENDING TWICE - SO WHICH COUNTS?!

With McEntire previously singing the anthem as low as 83 seconds, the line movement kept growing higher all week leading up to the Big Game. Eventually, many books closed at 90.5 seconds. So, I sent out the text and had a good amount of people pick the over/under and share an exact time guess. (This was for fun, of course…)

Seems pretty simple enough - what could possibly go wrong?

How about the biggest anthem controversy since Colin Kaepernick took a knee?

Reba was ROLLING through the anthem as the texts started coming in the group chats saying that the under is going to hit by a mile. But then, after she slows up a bit, she gears up for the final "HOME… OF THE… BRAAAAAVE," and everyone starts clapping around the stadium.

BUT WAIT JUST A MINUTE!

Out of nowhere, the country great chucks up a Hail Mary into 4-deep coverage when she doubles up and adds another, longer version of "THEEEE BRAAAAAVEEEEE," thus sending the song into the over!

Ah, crap. My problems:

  • I'm not a bookie
  • I'm not a sports book
  • I didn't stipulate the rules ahead of time because why the heck would Reba McEntire sing the same words more than once?
  • Someone in the group picked the exact over at 1:35 seconds, while two people picked the under at 1:29.

So who wins?! 

IS IT OVER OR UNDER?

When I look for guidance from the actual sports books, the responses are all over the place. BetMGM paid both the over and under - a noble move but, like, this is for group chat bragging rights people, we can't do that.

Meanwhile, BetOnline said the over hit, while DraftKings said that it's the final FIRST time she sings it and paid out the under bettors.

Personally, I feel like the clock should keep going until the VERY final word wraps up. Not our fault that Reba decided to extend it or Ray Charles used to ad lib with more words when he was singing songs like, "America, the Beautiful." It's the artist's rendition of the song and we should go by what they choose - no? 

Unfortunately, not everyone agrees, so that's why I faithfully turn to you OutKick READERS.

When does the national anthem prop bet officially end - after the first "brave" or the second?

Tweet me and let me know!  @TheGunzShow