There is no set way to choose a winner in Super Bowl match-ups. Most people choose the team they like the most. Some just choose a team to root for since their favorite team isn't even playing in the game. And then there are those who play the odds. But some look to more unorthodox methods of choosing a team to support.
In the 2013 Super Bowl match-up on Sunday (Feb. 3) between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers pit two brothers, coaches of the opposing teams, against each other. Sibling rivalry is one thing, but in this instance, they will depend on the play of their respective teams, their coaches, and favorable calls from the referees to win the game. Still, all that being said, not to mention the odds favoring the team with the least amount of turnovers, who will win the game (as "seen" beforehand) is just a matter of opinion. But other methods of divining a winner are sometimes employed...
According to "SB Nation" writer Bruce Raffel, the older brother, John, has the advantage due to a better astrological profile. That's right, the Ravens will win because their coach's star chart is stronger. John Harbaugh, a Libra, will bring a sense of balance to the game that even a "hard-nosed" coach like Jim Harbaugh, a Capricorn, won't be able to stop.
Nate Silver, the numbers-crunching analyst that has predicted 99 out of 100 state election results correctly in the past two national elections, analyzed the numbers for Super Bowl XLVII and found that the 49ers defense will be the key to the game. “The reasons that exceptional defenses fare so much better in the Super Bowl are still somewhat murky, but this factor bodes well for this year’s 49ers, whose defense belongs in the elite group, according to S.R.S. (it ranks 17th among Super Bowl teams),” he wrote in the New York Times.
And then there are those who allow animals to predict the Super Bowl outcome. KCBS in San Francisco put together an extensive list of animals predictions for the 2013 match-up in New Orleans, but among them all, perhaps the strangest was that of Mr. Nuts the Cat, who chose his favored team via making a selection from two kitty litter boxes. (Of course, this might say more about the person that designed the manner of selection.) Mr. Nuts chose the box that suggested the Ravens would win the game.
As noted earlier, however, most simply choose a team they like better (or their favorite team, if they are lucky enough to be Ravens or 49ers fans to begin with) or see who the professional oddsmakers like. There's nothing like the thought of losing money on a team's performance to generate support for that team. But regardless of all the varied ways predictions might be made, Bovada and BetOnline.com show the 49ers as the favored team by 3.5 points.
Super Bowl XLVII kicks off on Sunday, Feb. 3, at 6:30 p.m. (EST) on CBS Television.
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