IT is one of the big dates in the global sporting calendar this weekend when Superbowl 50 hits our television screens late tomorrow night and I cannot wait.

Now I am more au fait with our version of football than the one that rules Stateside but that does not stop my enjoyment of the big annual showdown.

Like the FA Cup and Champions League finals, it is a highlight of my coach potato year. For some it is Big Brother or X-Factor finals night but for me it is all about sport and this is a big one.

I was first tempted by the NFL as a teenager. For the first time, American sports were shown on terrestrial television on these shores and replica merchandise hit the likes of Allsports on the high street.

After twisting my mum’s and dad’s arms, I was the proud owner of a San Francisco 49ers sweatshirt as a 13-year-old and that was now my team.

Everyone at school got involved and we all had our favourites; some chose the Miami Dolphins, others the Chicago Bears – it was all a matter of which quarterback you liked the most really, Joe Montana (in my case) or Dan Marino.

We all had just a watching brief until the rich kid in class brought in a replica NFL ball and that took it up a notch in the playground. We all wanted to be the quarterback star.

Of course, diving around on concrete is not a wise idea without all that body armour the professionals wear.

The angry reaction at home to another pair of school trousers ripped at the knees was not a happy homecoming after the last bell.

Still, it did not stop our enthusiasm.

For some reason, however, it never quite kicked on from that eighties faze on these shores.

Maybe it was because we tried to replicate it with our own new teams such as Manchester Spartans – remember them?

They were quite successful domestically and even won ‘Eurobowl’ – the poor man’s version of the ‘Super’ one.

But it fizzled out again despite attempts for a European-wide league including the London Monarchs team.

The American version has kept its appeal over the years on TV and the more recent switch of regular games to Wembley has been a huge hit.

The crowds are not there for the novelty, either, with NFL bosses impressed with the UK fans’ knowledge of the sport.

A packed stadium each time has prompted the NFL to look at having a franchise based permanently in London with talk of playing home games at Tottenham’s new stadium or Twickenham. A second coming for UK gridiron perhaps.

I think the appetite is clearly there but whether having our own team on these shores would be as successful, I’m not so sure.

When fans go to Wembley, they wear a variety of replica shirts and are there for the live game experience.

It is like when Premier League ‘soccer’ teams tour the States. The likes of Man United and Liverpool will attract packed houses but when it comes to their own MLS version, few teams attract big attendances.

More often than not, fans like to see the big names and global stars in the flesh.

That is why tomorrow night, whether they follow Denver Broncos or support the Carolina Panthers, fans will be paying megabucks just to be pitchside in San Francisco.

Taking the game around the world is one thing; expanding too much should be done with caution – just ask those former Monarchs players and fans.