Watching the Atlanta Falcons during the 2016-17 season has been a blast. This is partly because no one expected the team to win the NFC – the Falcons were in the same division as the reigning Super Bowl runners-up in the Carolina Panthers, and the top of the conference (Arizona, Green Bay, and Seattle) looked like it could deal with Atlanta if they met in the postseason.
Of course, this did not happen, as Matt Ryan threw all over opposing secondaries and the Falcons are now one win away from the first Super Bowl win in franchise history. If this happens, it’ll send … well, not quite shockwaves through the gambling community, because no one bet on the Falcons before the 2016 season kicked off.
In fact, according to ESPN, more people wagered on the Browns to win it all than Atlanta. Seriously.
In the offseason, there was so little betting interest in the Atlanta Falcons that some Las Vegas sportsbooks lengthened their Super Bowl odds from 40-1 to 100-1 in an attempt to drum up some action.
It didn’t help.
When the NFL season kicked off in September, sportsbook operator CG Technology had taken more bets on the Cleveland Browns to win the Super Bowl than it had on the Falcons. In fact, as of Sept. 6, only one team had attracted fewer bets to win the Super Bowl than the Falcons — the Tennessee Titans.
So there are two lessons for us to learn here. The first is that you should have more faith in the Falcons if you are gambling before next season. The second, and this is something we should all know by now, is that you shouldn’t bet on the Browns to win the Super Bowl.
(Via ESPN)
