I had promised myself that I would not write about the Super Bowl this year. But, now I am going to break that promise, just like I have broken all of my good intentions for New Years Resolutions.

My decision to write about the Super Bowl came about when the big game was the hot topic of conversation at the Blue Earth Kiwanis Club meeting last Tuesday.

Well, actually it was the chit chat before and during the meal time, and was not part of the regular meeting.

It was a little bit surprising that it was the big discussion, considering the game itself was more than a week and a half away.

Some of the discussion centered on the two teams that will be in the game. Some of the talk was about the star attraction at the Super Bowl, and it was not one of the two super star quarterbacks or even Usher performing at halftime of the game. (Someone might have to explain to me who Usher is, but that is another age-related issue altogether. Obviously the last few Super Bowl halftime performances were not really aimed at people of my generation. But again, I digress.)

No, the super star at the game will be Taylor Swift, who according to reports, will be flying back from her concert tour in Japan just to watch her boyfriend Travis Kelce play football.

At the Kiwanis meeting there were those who obviously like Taylor Swift, and those who didn’t and were tired of constantly hearing about her.

Some of the other comments had to do with the cost of tickets, which some were reporting the cheap tickets were going for $8,500 and the spendy ones on the 50-yard line were at $85,000 apiece.

I had to tell my oft told story of my parents going to Super Bowl IV, played on Jan. 11, 1970 at Tulane University Stadium, in New Orleans.

Their tickets were $12 each. Not $120, or $1,200 or $12,000. Just a lousy 12 bucks each.

It was the game where the Vikings lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 23-7. Yeah, those same Kansas City Chiefs who are back in the Super Bowl.

I remember my folks saying the stadium was just half full, and the halftime entertainment was the college marching band.

Not Usher.

My how times have changed.

And speaking of money, super star QB Patrick Mahomes makes about $52.65 million a year playing football. But before you feel sorry for him and wonder how he will pay the rent, remember that he makes a whole lot more doing commercials, especially for State Farm. It is estimated he makes $20 million a year from his endorsements.

And, by the way, Mahomes is not the highest paid QB in the NFL. That would be Joe Burrows at $55 million.

Just in case you are wondering, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is being paid peanuts compared to Mahomes. He makes a paltry $870,000. And living in California that won’t go far. In fact, back in October he was living in an apartment with another player just to save on rent.

And you would think that if Purdy becomes the Super Bowl winning quarterback and maybe the league’s MVP, he would get a hefty hike in wage next year. But no. His contracted amount has to be the same next season according to league rules.

So here again, speaking of money, is the cost of a 30-second TV ad during the Super Bowl. It is $7 million, same as last year. For 30 seconds. And, that does not include the cost of creating and producing the ad. CBS has reported that they had no trouble at all selling out all the commercial air time space for the game.

It is all about the ratings. And there is at least one conspiracy theorist out there who says the NFL got just exactly the matchup they wanted.

Having the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs matchup for the big game will have more people watching than any other matchup. If Detroit and Baltimore were going to Las Vegas, ratings would have been much, much lower, the guy says.

Makes some sense. After all, Taylor Swift would not be flying back from Japan to attend the Super Bowl if it was the Ravens and Lions facing off.

Of course, the conspiracy theorists go a step farther and suggest the NFL orchestrates which teams will win and which will not. I’m pretty sure that would be nigh onto impossible.

At any rate, I plan on watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 11. I plan on skipping most of the six hours of pre-game show. I might try and watch the commercials, although they have not been as great as in years past. And, I will probably skip the halftime show.

I don’t really give a hoot who wins. I just hope it is a good, close, exciting game. Maybe that is just what the NFL is going to orchestrate to happen, so people don’t quit watching and go do something else.