#529 - Hi from Super Bowl XLVIII Boulevard

Just a few hours to kick off (6.30pm) for the big game between Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium this year, across the Hudson in NJ and the shared home ground of the NY Jets and the NY Giants. This is the first Superbowl to be played in the NYC metropolitan area and of course, security is massive with constant flyovers of Manhattan by police and FBI helicopters all week, so I will be glad when the game is over.

A close game is expected with the Seahawks underdogs (having a 2.5 point start). The exotic bet on the over/under for the total score is set at 47. The NFL has been lucky with the weather - 12 deg C right now: feels almost tropical! The game is not sold out and the worst tickets are "going out the door" for $1300 (were $4000 earlier in the week).

So it has been Superbowl fever here for the past 2 weeks, and Broadway has been closed to traffic since Monday between Times Square & Herald Square to become Super Bowl Boulevard {Trivia question: Which famous department store is at the corner of Broadway & 34th (official address 151 W.34th St)? Answer at bottom}.

I went to check out SBB yesterday afternoon when it was a balmy 4 degrees. There were various attractions but it was impossible to get near any of them. As with anything free here, it was a total mosh-pit

Superbowl XLVIII by the (big) numbers: A 30-second TV commercial spot costs $4M; $99M will be bet on the game with the sports bookies in Las Vegas; 169M people will watch it in 180 countries and 30 languages; 1.25 billion chicken wings will be consumed and that the average fan will take in roughly 1,200 calories during the game, according to Wallethub.

Dominos and Pizza Hut are also expected to sell 29 million slices of pizza

Trivia question answer: Macy's