For the past five years or so, I’ve always said “I’m going to give watching the NFL a real crack this year”, but that fad barely lasted half an hour on each occasion.

But this year, for whatever reason, I have sustained a genuine interest in the competition and that intensified on the weekend when I made the most of Sunday’s rainy conditions and sat glued to the television watching the San Francisco 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers in what was a post-season thriller.

I’m a 49ers fan so I was delighted as they ran away with the game in the fourth quarter to win 45-31 and progress to the NFC championship game, where they take on the Atlanta Falcons.

Of course, I was pleased with the result, but it was more than that – this was a truly gripping encounter and highly entertaining.

Aussie sports fans who are more used to the continuity of Aussie Rules and the rugby codes often describe the NFL as “boring”, or very much “stop-start”. 

However, I saw someone on Twitter describe American football as “a game of chess that is played out with incredible athletes” and I couldn’t have said it better.

The popularity of the sport is growing in Australia every year and that trend is set to continue as Queenslander Jesse Williams will most probably be picked in the next NFL draft.

I for one cannot wait for this year’s Superbowl and I would recommend you all give it a watch. Oh, and go 49ers!      

NO BACK-PEDALLING PLEASE, LANCE

For the first time I can remember, the world is genuinely looking forward to an Oprah Winfrey interview.

The so-called talk show queen sat down with the most notorious drug cheat in the history of sport, Lance Armstrong, yesterday afternoon (our time) for what was supposed to be a no-holds-barred interview (keep in mind nobody has seen it yet). 

Whether or not that is what we’ll see when the final cut gets aired later this week remains to be seen. Personally, I doubt it will be. 

I’m expecting some tears and a solid “I’m actually a really nice guy” performance from the disgraced cyclist, but I’m not really expecting too much in terms of full-on admissions of guilt.

He simply has too much to lose, including massive amounts of money.  

PREMIER LEAGUE STAR HITS THE JACKPOT...LITERALLY

Don’t you just love it when you hear of a heart warming tale about good things happening to good people that really deserve it?

Well if that’s up your alley, then it’s probably best to stop reading now.

A report came out last week of an English Premier League star who won a six-figure share of the December 22 British Lottery draw after his numbers were pulled out.

The unidentified player, who is said to be a “household name”, won a little over $190,000 thanks to his lucky draw.

Now, if you’re a “household name” in the English Premier League, chances are that you would be earning, at the very least, $200,000 per week.

I’m not saying this unidentified multi-millionaire didn’t deserve the money (after all he may have donated it to charity for all we know), but it would have been nice to see the sum go to someone who perhaps needed it a little bit more.

Not surprisingly, he has insisted on remaining anonymous due to the “stick he’ll get” from English football fans – probably a wise choice.