I am an expert at the “Player to Score 1st TD” Super Bowl prop bet. I’m not kidding. In Super Bowl 48, Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers, I hit on Anquan Boldin scoring the first TD at 15/1 odds. It was really awkward when I exploded in celebration like a maniac after that touchdown, at a party in New York that had no fans of either team. And then it happened again last year, hitting my Brandon LaFell pick at 17/1 odds. Ensue awkward celebration, except I wasn’t the only one celebrating this time. There were a few Patriots fans at the party. As a Jets fan, I would have rather celebrated alone.

After hitting on this bet twice in three years, I am now certain I have been blessed with a specific set of skills … to find the player who will score the 1st TD in the Super Bowl. Let me help you have an awkward celebration all of your own. The key is to find plausible options, with big odds. Picking the obvious names is no fun. This year, the Carolina wide receivers are calling my name. And all of them have good odds. Here is who I am liking:

Devin Funchess: 16/1 – I can just see Von Miller flushing Cam Newton out of the pocket, while Newton keeps his eyes downfield, and finds the 6’,4’’, 225 Funchess for a 28-yard TD down the sideline on Carolina’s first drive.

Jerricho Cotchery: 20/1 – Cotchery reminds me of a poor man’s Boldin. I can envision Newton standing tall in the pocket, as he fires a strike to Cotchery down the middle of the field for the game’s first TD.

Corey Brown: 14/1 – Not getting any premonitions here, but he seems like a logical option with good odds.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhapern@imaginarybrickwall.com