It is much more than a game.
It is an event that most of the world is interested in. Today President Trump (still seems strange the first office he ever ran for was president and he won) and his tweets and beliefs will be put on the back burner.
One of the hardest things to come to grips with early in this presidential reign is that when the president of the United States speaks, the world typically listens; but this president tweets, and not always nicely.
Today, most won't care. This is Super Bowl Sunday, and whether you were willing to shell out around $5,000 for a ticket or you attend a party somewhere, plans have been in the making for weeks.
When Tom and Melissa Meziere sent out their evite to share in the festivities at their home, it took about five seconds to reply, 'Yes for two.' Monica wouldn't miss it either.
There will be enough food to feed a medium-sized Bavarian village. Enough beverages to float a navy, and most of all, every TV will be tuned in to the game between the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots.
Our man Tom Murphy, the veteran beat writer on Arkansas Razorbacks football, will be tuned to his own history this evening.
Murphy spent some of his formative years in Atlanta and naturally became a fan of the Falcons, Braves and perhaps the Hawks. A fiercely loyal fan, he doesn't care that New England's Bill Belichick is going for a record fifth Super Bowl ring as a head coach.
Murphy is like hundreds of thousands of others who see Atlanta -- with its busiest airport in the country and sprawl that covers numerous counties -- as a city worthy of a championship.
If it happens today, it will double the number of championships the city has won. In 1995, the Braves won the World Series, and that is it for championships. Yes, the Boston Braves won another in 1914 and the Milwaukee Braves in 1957, but only one since settling in Atlanta.
This is the city that muffed the 1996 Olympics so badly that many hotels gave rebates.
Hopes are running high for the NFL's most explosive offensive team, especially after the way it manhandled Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game.
But who would have thought the Packers would win the coin toss and give the ball to a team that averaged more than 450 yards per game?
The Falcons are led by quarterback Matt Ryan, who completed more than 71 percent of his third-down passes this season. He also threw for 4,944 yards and 38 touchdowns with just 7 interceptions.
Today he's hoping to outgun the top gunslinger, Tom Brady, who sat out the season's first four games over "Deflategate" but came back to pass for 3,554 yards, 28 touchdowns and just 2, yes, 2 interceptions.
Brady seems determined to buff any tarnish off his image with a victory today. In sports, winning seems to cure all.
The hype for this game started two weeks ago, and not much was learned from the tight-lipped Belichick, who is tied with Chuck Noll for most Super Bowl victories with four. He's made it to two others.
Atlanta's Dan Quinn is in his second year as a head coach. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has garnered most of the attention, apparently to Quinn's relief, as Shanahan is expected to be on his way to San Francisco on Monday as the 49ers head coach. No matter what today's outcome.
This event will last about four hours, and the hype for next year's game will start Monday. There's only one thing to say: Go Falcons. Murphy and all those long-suffering fans deserve it.
Sports on 02/05/2017