Oh dear, the Super Bowl is screening live in Australia and New Zealand, mid-morning on Monday, February 10. Screening on ESPN begins at 9am AEDT. Aussies and Kiwis can either spend an anxious morning hiding their viewing from bosses’ evil eyes or do the Aussie thing and chuck a sickie.

ESPN is encouraging the latter in this year’s edition of its Super Bowl campaign. In fact, it is making the latter downright irresistible. Fans can download an ESPN Sickie certificate at espnwin.com.au/superbowlsickie to enter the draw to win a five-night trip for two to New Orleans.

The sickie certificates offer a range of entertaining (and not at all suspicious??) reasons for taking Monday off, including pre-Game paralysis, half-time hysteria, meat tray mania, and 3am kebab attack.

ESPN star, Stephen A. Smith, is once again leading the Super Bowl Sickie campaign. “If you’ve got Super Bowl Fever, no medicine is going to cure that, except watching the big game. Call in sick…trust me,” Smith commented.

ESPN understands that full recovery can be made in 4-6 hours and reminds fans to include the Super Bowl LIX pre-game and half-time shows as part of their treatment plan***.

***ESPN is definitely not encouraging you to breach your employment contract by taking a ‘sickie’ day

ESPN and ESPN2 is available on Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Fetch TV and Sky NZ.