Super Bowl betting fever grips

The Super Bowl is America's most-watched television broadcast and a multitude of Super Bowl betting opportunities now sit alongside the glitz and glamour of each edition.

Super Bowl Sunday's popularity has grown across the globe with hundreds of countries now taking the broadcast live. With the exciting TV coverage, comes a raft of Super Bowl betting and odds, ranging from the simple to the downright obscure.

Variety is the spice for Super Bowl bets

Right from the opening toss of the coin to the final score of the game, just about every play that occurs will have an effect on one or many Super Bowl bets. Nearly anything you could imagine will be covered, and plenty more you probably wouldn't even consider.

Recent Super Bowl bets have provided solace for favourite backers like the 2006 victory for Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots win in 2007. However, there are still successful long-shots in the Super Bowl odds, as in February 2008 when the as yet unbeaten Patriots lost their crown to the New York Giants 17-14.

Often to the fore are the odds for the first touchdown scorer, much like a first goalscorer in football, and the handicap market where the game favourites will be given the challenge of handing the outsider a points head-start. So it is still possible to back a loser that wins with a Super Bowl bet.

Who will be the man in Tampa Super Bowl odds?

Eli Manning came out as the game's Most Valuable Player and his Super Bowl odds could be worth considering again, if the Giants make it to the end of the season unscathed. Other quarterbacks like Brett Favre of the New York Jets and Matt Cassel of the Patriots may have their eyes on the same prize in early 2009.

Will this season's feature game see more than 31 points? Will it include more than the record three lead changes in the final quarter from last season’s game? Can anyone catch more than the 11 passes Wes Welker managed in Arizona? All these questions will be answered in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium on February 1 when countless Super Bowl odds will be available.