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This coming Sunday is no ordinary Sunday: it’s Super Bowl Sunday. At approximately 6.20 Eastern, 3.20 Pacific and some unearthly hour Greenwich mean time, the Arizona Cardinals will square off against the Pittsburgh Steelers for Super Bowl XLIII at the Raymond James stadium in Tampa, Florida.

It will attract more viewers than Obama’s inauguration, spark more heated debate than the war in Iraq and practically bring the country to a standstill. But it will pass with barely a murmur in the UK where American Football is still widely seen as a bunch of over-padded men throwing a rugby ball in the wrong direction and stopping every 30 seconds for a snack.

So, to win hearts and minds, here in no particular order, are 43 (or should that be XLIII?) reasons to stay up late this Sunday.

I. You’ll be one of the few if you don’t

This year’s Super Bowl will be broadcast simultaneously in 232 countries and if you believe the greasy PR wheels of the NFL, it attracts a worldwide audience of more than one billion faithful fans. Of course we don’t believe the slick corporate machine, we’re all too British for that and are probably more likely to believe the media types who quote the figure as closer to 100 million. Still it’s more than Corry gets every week isn’t it?

II. The national anthem

As much a part of Super Bowl as the game itself, the national anthem is a treasured moment in the pre-match build-up. Of course us patriotic Brits won’t be standing up for the proceedings, but even in the cheap seats you’ll still get the chance to tune into this year’s warbler, the Oscar-winning Jennifer Hudson. Hudson, who rose to prominence on American Idol, is making the appearance as part of a comeback that offers a crumb of hope to Rick Waller fans the world over.

III. The adverts

Since a Ridley Scott directed Apple advert during the 1984 Bowl, the event has become a showcase for high concept advertising, with everything from movie premiers to David Beckham’s stateside debut featured during 30-second slices of advertiser heaven. Some people even tune in just to watch the adverts. A half-minute opportunity to beam consumerism directly into the psyches of the masses doesn’t come cheap, setting advertisers back a cool $3million.

IV. The half-time show

Since the now infamous nipple-gate saga involving Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, the half-time show has seemed a little tame, but the Super Bowl attracts only the finest performers with greats such as U2, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and even New Kids on the Block gracing the field of play down the years.