What Super Bowl? Spring training is just around the corner...

I really wish they would just play the Super Bowl game and get it over with.

It's time for a confession here: I don't like football, I don't care a thing about it, and I'm tired of hearing about it.

Ordinarily, football and I do not clash. I can avoid the games, avoid the references to it, and everything is fine. But, for the past week, at least, that's all I've heard about. Every time I turn on the television. Every time I turn on the radio. Nearly every time I get on the Internet. Really. And I'm tired of hearing about it.

I can understand the constant promotion on CBS outlets. They're carrying the game tomorrow, so it stands to reason that they would be promoting the crap out of it. Not that there's much chance that it won't get top ratings. It always does. But the network wouldn't be doing it's job if it didn't do those promotions.

I'm not quite so sure that I understand all the programming around the actual game. As I understand it, the game starts in the middle of the afternoon, at least in my time zone. I think they mentioned 3:30 p.m. as the start time. But they also have been emphasizing that their pre-game programming will start at 8:00 a.m. Maybe it's just because I'm not a football fan, but I can't quite imagine how they are going to get seven and a half hours of pre-game programming out of one game.

Plus, they are, in truth, starting the pre-game programming today. On CBS' weekend morning newscast, they were already broadcasting from the site of the game, and mostly talking about the game. And then, tonight, there is going to be some sort of football-themed awards show broadcast on the network, according to some advertisements I saw.

I do get that there are a lot of football fans out there. But, are what amounts to a day and a half of pre-game programming really necessary? Really?

I'm not writing any of this to criticize football fans. You like your game. I understand that. I hope you enjoy the game tomorrow. I'm just not sure why, in the past few years, Super Bowl Sunday has come to be treated like it's a national holiday.

There is hope for people like me, however. It's February. Spring training is just around the corner, and before we know it the baseball season will be starting.

But, I can pretty much guarantee that there will not be a day and a half of programming on a major broadcast network before the first game of the World Series. And, as much of a baseball fan as I am (I was raised to be one, from as long ago as I can remember), I wouldn't want there to be.

Since tomorrow is Music Sunday anyway, and because it makes me feel better, I'm leaving this with you, John Fogerty's "Centerfield":