Have you ever dreamed about seeing the Super Bowl in person? Rise and Shine. Its time to wake up from your slumber, because I want you to start taking steps to make that dream a reality. And that doesnt mean auction off a limb or mortgage your house to buy tickets from a broker!!

Instead, Im going to show you how you can purchase a pair of tickets directly from the National Football League. Did you know the NFL has a process for distributing a limited number of Super Bowl tickets to fans each year? If youre like most people, you were completely unaware of this, but its true.

Some people call it the Super Bowl ticket lottery, but its not a lottery per se. There is no cost to enter and you dont really win anything if youre name is chosen.

Super Bowl ticket drawing might be a more accurate description, but even that one makes it sound like youll win a free prize. Not so, but thats not to say you dont want your name chosen.

Unfortunately, in an effort to keep the number of entries low, and thus the odds better, the NFL doesnt promote this drawing. In fact you have to do some serious searching on the NFLs official website to find this information, but it is there if you know where to look.

But you dont have to worry about that now. Im going to tell you everything you need to know. Each year, the NFL accepts requests for a random drawing. Those lucky enough to be chosen have the right to purchase a pair of Super Bowl tickets for face value, about $600 each.

Now that may not sound like much of a prize, but when you consider these tickets routinely sell for thousands of dollars, these tickets are down right cheap! Now you can understand why the NFL receives so many ticket requests each year.

As you can see buying directly from the NFL means you get cheap tickets, but it has one more advantage. You will also have the assurance that your tickets are genuine. With demand far outpacing supply, counterfeit Super Bowl tickets are a real problem for football fans everywhere, so the added peace of mind makes this prize even more valuable.

That's the good news. Now for a little bad news.

The NFL only distributes 1,000 tickets via this lottery despite receiving close to 50,000 requests each year. Thats 500 pairs of tickets going to 50,000 people! Obviously just submitting a request wont guarantee your name is chosen. On top of that, these are not choice seats by any stretch of the imagination, unless youre idea of choice seats are upper deck or end zones.

Now lets be honest here. For most football fans, end zone seats are just dandy. Heck, the NFL could probably sell 10,000 SRO seats if they wanted to, so seat locations for something as BIG as the Super Bowl doesnt really matter.

As for the odds of winning, lets put it in perspective. Millions of people play the lottery every day despite overwhelming odds against winning. For example, the odds of winning the grand prize in the Powerball lottery are 1 in 146,107,962. Thats one in one-hundred forty-six million! In contrast, the odds of the NFL choosing your name are around 1 in 100. Doesnt seem so bad now does it? Sure you wont win a hundred million dollars, but getting cheap Super Bowl tickets may feel like it if your team makes it to the BIG game.

So how do you get in on this great opportunity? Get ready. Here it comes!!!!

Here are the "official" requirements, but beware, the NFL enforces them very strictly, so dont take any chances. You wouldnt want your entry disregarded because you failed to follow these simple guidelines.

Step 1 Write a letter to the NFL requesting two tickets to the Super Bowl in question. Include your name, address, and phone number. I recommend you type or print this information to ensure everything is legible.

Step 2 Address a #10 envelope to:

Super Bowl Random Drawing,
PO Box 49140
Strongsville, OH 44149-0140
(I have seen several different address for this drawing, but this is the one listed with the NFL)

Step 3 Mail it via certified or registered mail. Very Important - The NFL only accepts these requests between Feb. 1 and June 1 of the year preceding the game you would like to see, so they will be accepting requests for Super Bowl XLII, to be played February 3, 2008 in Glendale, Arizona beginning February 1, 2007. As you can see advance planning is critical to obtaining cheap Super Bowl tickets. Also, please note that the NFL only accepts one entry per address/household; all duplicate entries will be disregarded.

Step 4 Pray the NFL chooses your name. The NFL will notify you by mail in October or November if youre one of the lucky 500. Youll receive a valuable piece of mail with instruction on how and when to pay for your tickets. Remember, youll only be paying face value for them! Whoo-hoooooo.

Once youve made payment arrangements, your tickets will arrive sometime around December or January.

Thats all there is to it.

Since the guidelines are so important, lets review them one more time. Your request must:

• include a written request for two tickets to the Super Bowl
• include your full name, address, and phone number
• be sent via certified or registered mail, no exceptions
• be received between February 1 and June 1 of the preceding year