Shark Attack 2017 Proposition Betting Odds
–People have been fascinated by–and terrified of–sharks for centuries.
–Unprovoked shark attacks are rare, fatal attacks even more so.
–2017 has seen an upswing in the number of shark attacks worldwide.
It is simultaneously fascinating and bizarre that humans are still afraid of shark attacks. At one point it made at least a little bit of sense. When humans were forced to endure long journeys by sea to get anywhere worth going they faced danger from not only sharks but countless other natural forces including weather and the ocean itself. Early shark attacks were likely no more prevalent than they were today (in fact, there’s a good case to be made that they were less common) but were often conflated with mythical creatures such as ‘sea serpents’. If someone disappeared at sea human nature wanted an explanation and with none forthcoming these hapless souls turned toward their own mythical creations.
Fast forward to 2017 and the fact that anyone is seriously worried about shark attacks is borderline comical. A random American citizen has a statistically insignificant chance of being involved in a fatal shark attack. Living on or near the coasts makes it somewhat more likely but still statistically insignificant as we’ll discuss in a moment. It would be nice to affirm that humanity has evolved beyond this type of behavior but they haven’t as witnessed by the prevalence of Americans to swallow the propaganda about the virtually non-existent risk off harm by foreign terrorists hook, line and sinker. Compared the 1 in 46.1 million chance of being the victim of a fatal attack by a foreign terrorist being afraid of sharks looks logical by comparison.
BASELESS FEAR IS NOTHING NEW
Overreacting to non-existent danger has been used by government and religion to subjugate humanity for centuries. Not that they’ve had a hard time doing it–humanity has a ‘bug in the system’ with their genetic wiring that makes them fearful over highly unlikely outcomes such as severe weather, air travel or even an asteroid crashing into earth. One of the oldest and most enduring of all irrational fears is the fear of sharks. It’s unclear at what point humans became terrified of an animal that most will never even see. It dates back centuries–as long as humanity has been circumnavigating the globe via ocean travel. At one point, the fear of sharks was symbiotically connected to a fear of sea monsters and other superstitions that people used to try and force order on a pre-scientific world. It’s the same phenomenon that resulted in hurricanes being mythologized–being afraid of monsters and storms makes more sense to the human brain than just accepting the fact that the universe is an exceedingly chaotic and random place.
The fear of the irrational starts to get *really* strange as we move into the 19th, 20th and now the 21st Century. Humanity has a profound understanding of most of the questions that bedeviled the world several centuries ago. People should know that flying is significantly safer than traveling by car yet millions still suffer from ‘fear of flying’. The explanation for everything is just a click away and available to all intellectual levels yet the mainstream media has made a cottage industry of selling the concept that there is more danger–and more unexplained danger–than at any point in history.
Currently, there’s a ridiculous level of media coverage about what has been described as an ‘unprecedented’ increase in the number of shark attacks. It was somewhat dormant until the release of ‘Jaws’–the classic killer shark film that introduced mainstream America to the Great White Shark as it terrorized affluent yuppie tourists on Cape Cod. Ironically, the year that ‘Jaws’ was released (1975) Cape Cod experienced a whopping *zero* reported shark attacks. Not that this was especially surprising since the entire state of Massachusetts has had only seven unprovoked shark attacks. Ever.
MEDIA HYSTERIA OVER A NON-EXISTENT THREAT
Relatively speaking, being killed by a shark is much more likely than being killed by a foreign terrorist. Not that this is particularly meaningful. For all US citizens, the odds of being killed by a shark is around 1 in 7 million. If you live within 100 miles of the coast, it’s a ‘whopping’ 1 in 3.7 million. Here’s a list of the odds of dying of specific causes throughout an individual’s lifetime:
Odds of being killed by heart disease: 1 in 7
Odds of being killed by the flu: 1 in 70
Odds of being killed in a car accident: 1 in 111
Odds of being killed in an act of murder by another US citizen: 1 in 249
Odds of being killed by accidental gunshot: 1 in 8,359
Odds of being killed by police: 1 in 8,359
Odds of being killed by a tornado: 1 in 60,000
Odds of being killed by an earthquake: 1 in 110,000
Odds of being killed by an asteroid: 1 in 1.9 million
Odds of being killed by a shark: 1 in 3.7 million
Odds of being killed by a foreign born US immigrant terrorist: 1 in 46.1 million
If you’re afraid to swim in the ocean because of sharks you need to find another excuse. Since 1900 there have been only 1657 reported unprovoked shark attacks in the United States (if you’re provoking sharks you deserve what you get). For those of you scoring at home, that’s an average of just over 14 per year. Fatal attacks are even less common with only 114 unprovoked fatalities due to shark attacks in the US or an average of just under 1 per year.
There are certain demographics that need to be aware of sharks and their risks. These people are salt water recreation enthusiasts, more specifically surfers. 58% of all reported shark attacks have ‘surfing’ listed as the ocean activity in question. If you’re a surfer you should be mindful of sharks in the same way that backcountry snowboarders understand avalanches and avalanche safety. In these cases, of course, we’re not talking a hysterical and irrational fear–it’s a legitimate concern that participants in these sports need to be aware of.
THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION
There is a greater observance of shark activity in some areas, particularly Southern California. There are a variety of theories that attempt to explain this but none are deserving of media hysteria. It wasn’t that long ago (2015-2016 to be specific) that the media was chortling about a record decline in shark bites. It’s not hard to experience huge percentage fluctuations from year to year when the number of shark attacks annually has never exceeded 100.
Here at SPORTS BETTING EXPERTS, we’ve done our own ‘data analysis’ of shark attacks and created a heapin’ helping of betting odds. Look for Part 2 of the SBE Shark Attack odds coverage coming soon!
SHARK ATTACKS 2017 PROPOSITION BETTING ODDS
All propositions will be graded using data from the Global Shark File Incident Log unless specified otherwise
STATISTICAL PROPS
TOTAL NUMBER OF REPORTED SHARK ATTACKS WORLDWIDE IN 2017?
Over 81.5: -210
Under 81.5: +180
WILL THE NUMBER OF REPORTED SHARK ATTACKS WORLDWIDE IN 2017 BREAK THE ALL TIME YEARLY RECORD OF 98 REPORTED IN 2015?
Yes: -150
No: +130
PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL SHARK ATTACKS EXPERIENCED BY SURFERS IN 2017?
Over 54.5%: -130
Under 54.5%: +110
Activity in the Global Shark Attack File incident log must specifically indicate ‘surfing’. Any other water borne activity will not be included in total.
US STATE WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF REPORTED SHARK ATTACKS IN 2017?
Florida: -250
Hawaii: +450
California: +600
South Carolina: +750
North Carolina: +1750
Texas: +2750
Oregon: +3500
New Jersey: +3750
Georgia: +4150
New York: +5000
Alabama: +5000
Any Other State: +15000
US COUNTY WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF REPORTED SHARK ATTACKS IN 2017?
Volusia County, Florida (Daytona, New Smyrna Beach): -150
Brevard County, Florida (Cocoa Beach, Melbourne): +300
Maui County, Hawaii: +500
Palm Beach County, Florida: +900
Charleston County, South Carolina: +1500
Honolulu County, Hawaii: +1750
Horry County, South Carolina (Myrtle Beach): +2750
St. Johns County, Florida (St. Augustine Beach): +5000
NUMBER OF SHARK ATTACKS REPORTED AT NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FLORIDA IN 2017?
Over 7.5: -250
Under 7.5: +210
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks in Florida: -150
Reported 2017 shark attacks in South Carolina + California + Hawaii + 10: +130
AUSTRALIAN STATE/TERRITORY WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF REPORTED UNPROVOKED SHARK ATTACKS IN 2017?
Western Australia: +300
Queensland: +450
New South Wales: +125
Tasmania: +900
Victoria: +600
South Australia: +5000
Northern Territory: +5000
SURF SPOT HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Cocoa Beach, Florida: -180
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Hanaleai Bay, Hawaii: +150
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Bells Beach, Australia: -130
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Huntington Beach, California: +110
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Glenelg Beach, Australia: +180
Reported 2017 shark attacks at San Onofre State Beach, California: -210
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Crescent Head, Australia: -150
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Haleiwa, Hawaii: +130
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Scripps La Jolla, California: +250
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Jacksonville Beach, Florida: -300
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Mavericks, California: -120
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Gold Coast, Australia: +100
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa: -150
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Playa Brava, Ecuador: +130
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Manu Bay, New Zealand: -210
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Sigatoka, Fiji: +180
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Rincon, Puerto Rico: -180
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Hanaleai Bay, Hawaii: +150
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Bondi Beach, Australia: -300
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Teahupo’o, Tahiti: +250
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Ensenada, Mexico: -300
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Teahupo’o, Tahiti: +250
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Rincon, Puerto Rico: -180
Reported 2017 shark attacks at Rincon, California: +150
SHARKS IN POPULAR CULTURE PROPS
WILL THERE BE A REPORTED SHARK ATTACK ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON JULY 4, 2017?
Yes: -150
No: +130
NUMBER OF REPORTED SHARK ATTACKS IN THE UNITED STATES ON JULY 4, 2017?
Over 0.5: +130
Under 0.5: -150
NUMBER OF SHARK ATTACKS REPORTED WORLDWIDE DURING THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S ‘SHARK WEEK 2017’?(JULY 23 AT 12:01 AM EDT TO JULY 29 AT 11:59 PM EDT)
Over 5.5: -130
Under 5.5: +110
NUMBER OF SHARK ATTACKS REPORTED WORLDWIDE DURING THE SAN JOSE SHARKS 2017-2018 NHL REGULAR SEASON?
Over 49.5: -150
Under 49.5: +130
WHICH YEAR WILL HAVE MORE SHARK ATTACKS REPORTED IN MASSACHUSETTS?
The year the movie ‘Jaws’ was released (1975–zero attacks) +1/2 : -170
2017 -1/2: +150
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Majors won by Greg Norman (2): +120
2017 shark attacks in Queensland, Australia: -140
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
PGA tournaments won by Greg Norman (20): +150
2017 shark attacks nationwide in Australia: -170
WHICH WILL BE HIGHER?
Number of years that Jerry Tarkanian coached at UNLV (19): +100
2017 reported shark attacks on surfers nationwide in Australia +4: -120