Every night, random fans are picked out of the stands at games big and small to participate in contests that test their skill and promise a prize, sometimes a big one, if they’re successful.
Halfcourt shooting contests have a long history at high school, college and professional basketball games. In recent years, contests requiring fans to putt a golf ball the length of the court into a small slot have become popular. That’s how a fan at a recent Nebraska game recently won a $75,000 Porsche.
Some numbers associated with these in-game contests:
1993
The year Chicago Bulls fan Don Calhoun swished a shot of about 80 feet, from the opposite free-throw line, to win $1 million. The Bulls and sponsors paid Calhoun after the insurance company reneged, saying he was disqualified because he had played in a handful of junior college basketball games. Calhoun’s million-dollar shot is considered the moment in-game contests took off in popularity.
1 in 2
Chances a random fan will make a free throw, according to contest insurer SCA Promotions.
1 in 7
Chances a random fan will make a 3-point shoot, according to SCA.
1 in 50
Chances a random fan will make a halfcourt shot, according to contest the insurer Interactive Promotions Group. SCA Promotions sets the chances at 1 in 49.
1 in 100
Chances a random fan will make a length-of-the-court putt (94 feet) into a 3-by-3 inch slot, according to IPG and SCA.
1 in 200
Chances a random hockey fan will make a shot from center ice into a 4-inch slot at the bottom of a board covering the goal 89 feet away, according to SCA.
$1,000
Estimated insurance premium for SCA to cover the risk of having to give away $10,000 in a halfcourt shooting contest, according to SCA vice president Chris Hamman. The premium would cover five attempts by five different contestants.
$16,200
Insurance premium paid to IPG to cover the risk of Porsche of Omaha dealership having to give away a $75,000 Porsche Macan to Travis Weber, who made a 94-foot putt into a 3-by-3 inch slot in Nebraska’s Putt for a Porsche contest. The premium covered eight putting attempts by different contestants over eight games.
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