Viva Murillo!

The biggest reason to watch the Super Bowl isn't the commercials, even though advertisers will pay about $3 million dollars for 30 seconds of time. For that amount you'll be subjected to ads for several movies that will be in not-so-interesting-anymore 3D. If you think Transformers was bad in two dimensions, now you can hate it in a third for just a few extra dollars.

It's not the halftime entertainment, either, although the Black Eyed Peas will do a good job (but probably not as good as Prince did in 2007, which is the best halftime show I’ve ever seen). And Christina Aguilera will perform the National Anthem, if you care.

It's also not really the matchup, even though both teams are deserving of their spot, and the game really could go either way. Normally there's a clear favorite in the Super Bowl (even if they don't win) but I think this year it's about as even as you can get. I can see Rodgers or Roethlisberger (or both) rising to the challenge. Both defenses can turn red zone possessions into field goals or turnovers, and both clubs have good deep threats at receiver. It should be a good game ... which means it will probably be a blowout. I just wouldn't bet on which team will blow the other out.

Speaking of bets, the biggest reason to watch isn't the crazy prop betting, where you can wager on how long it takes Christina to over-emote the anthem, or how many times the Fox team will mention Brett Favre (if John Madden was still announcing I'd take the over without even looking at the number). You can even bet on who the MVP will thank first, although you should know that God is the heavy favorite. Betting against God doesn't sound like a wise move for your dynasty team, does it?

No, the reason you absolutely have to watch the Super Bowl is that it might be the last meaningful NFL game played this year. It looks like there's going to be a lockout, and the odds of work stoppage hover somewhere between "possible" and "likely." The owners

have a list of demands, including adding a couple of regular season games and factoring in extra costs before sharing revenue. The players want to keep playing under the previously-negotiated agreement, but all the leverage is on the other side: Under terms of the television contracts, the NFL gets revenue whether games are played or not. The players will run out of money well before the owners will, and both sides know it. Depending on how "aggressive" the owners want to be (using a term like "greedy" would look like I'm taking sides), the negotiations will center around what the players are willing to forfeit to keep the season going. If there's a snag in negotiations -- like, never actually getting together to negotiate -- you can forget free agency starting on time. We might have a draft with no contracts to sign and nowhere to report.

We also might have everything resolved in time for the 2011 season, but before then you'll see a lot of whining in the press, reports with unnamed sources that are 100 percent false and mindless commentary on talk radio. This is probably your last chance to talk about football where the subject is actually football. At best, we're facing a long, annoying off-season where both parties fight over how to spend our money. At worst, we're facing an even longer off-season where those same parties blame each other for taking away part of the season. Doesn't sound fun, does it?

It's not -- but Sunday will be fun. Two great teams, plenty of entertainment, puppies on Animal Planet, and a storied NFL franchise guaranteed to add another chapter to its legacy. What happens later won't be pretty, but forget all that and enjoy the one game that matters.

If you have your own reasons for watching, please share them below.

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