Super Bowl LII is now a little under two hours away.

I am still in Kansas City, but no way in hell am I watching at an establishment. I went to Buffalo Wild Wings last year and it was a zoo. Amazingly, I played trivia throughout and did not fail to answer a question.

Today, I’m sitting in room 229 of the TownePlace Suites near KCI, blogging away and getting ready to leave tomorrow morning. I’ll get some work done and munch on the rest of my Outback meal. I devoured the large bone-in ribeye earlier, and I still have some coconut shrimp left, plus a couple of QuikTrip pretzel dogs, which are divine. Too bad they aren’t around all the time. I’ll be in bed pretty early I think.

It snowed between 11 and noon today. There was a two-car accident on Interstate 29 south near 112th Street, one mile south of the airport. I made sure I didn’t go over 45 MPH (70 km/h) on I-29, and much, much less than that on Barry Road. Made it back safely.

Today is the equivalent of a national holiday. It’s highly unlikely there will be much activity anywhere in Kansas City after 5:00

The Super Bowl  is the biggest single day sporting event in the United States and Canada, yes.

But the biggest sporting event on earth? Nope. Not even close.

More sporting fans watch the FIFA World Cup every four years than anything else. Football, the kind played with the round ball, is the world’s most popular sport, and it is one understood by people in every nation, save for a few ignoramuses in the United States and Canada who refuse to acknowledge association football (soccer) as a major sport alongside gridiron football, baseball, basketball and hockey.

I’m betting the ratings for the Super Bowl in the United Kingdom will be no more than one-tenth of what they were for today’s Premier League match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. Sure, the Super Bowl kicks off at 11:30 p.m. (2330) British Standard Time, but I would venture to say there are many more people who would stay up at that hour to watch Liverpool-Tottenham than the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.

The NFL has grown by leaps and bounds since the first Super Bowl in January 1967, but seriously, how many countries can realistically play gridiron football outside of the U.S. and Canada? Most African residents probably have no idea what American football entails, and certainly, most nations can’t afford it. Shoot, many in Africa are living on less per year than what it takes to outfit someone to play high school varsity football, which is north of $1,000 when you consider a helmet ($350), shoulder pads ($300), shoes ($200) and the other necessities.

Association football is easy. All you need is a ball, two goals or other objects to serve as such, and a field. Basketball is almost the same, with nets and rims instead of goals. Baseball is a little more price, but the balls are much cheaper than gridiron footballs, and one metal bat is enough for everyone to use.

The problem with ice hockey? It’s impossible in many areas of the world due to the climate. Heck, outdoor rinks are impractical in Kansas because it often gets above freezing for long periods during the winter. And certainly nobody would ever dream of outdoor hockey in Louisiana.

I have the sense of dread the Patriots are going to win. Again. If Brady wasn’t a giant douche and crybaby, and Belichick was not so angry all the time, maybe we could celebrate their success. But Belichick is a summa cum laude graduate of the school of anti-social behavior, and Brady never misses an opportunity to tell us he’s better than you and me, so I won’t hold my breath.

All I know is that by 2100 tonight, it will all be over until September 6.