It’s not strictly speaking sport but it is the event of the day, if not the year, and it is an event that will have everyone talking about something other than lockdown and the pandemic.
Coverage will be live through the night as America decides on whether to try and regain some moral authority as the self-styled leader of the free world or elects to sink further into the grip of a self-styled enemy of the system.
For many, the election of Donald trump in 2016 was the worst political decision that democracy could bestow. That it came hot on the heels of Brexit seemed to indicate a calamity in the way in which we as people choose to govern ourselves.
Thankfully when we go to the polls in Ireland we do not have to take public safety and civil unrest into account.
Scenes of US Cities boarded up and high chain fortifications going up around the White House should be the preserve of Hollywood blockbusters, not CNN coverage.
We will be watching in thrall tonight as the polls close, the counting begins and the mathematic possibilities unfold.
We are confident. Following the polls led to crushing disappointment four years ago but they have improved and while there is no guarantee that people will vote as they say they will, particularly in such a deeply divided election as this, the indications are that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be there for inauguration as we roll into 2021.
That may not have quite the same ring of a new dawn as was the case with Obama 12 years ago but the alternative is hard to come to terms with.
Top polling website Five Thirty Eight takes the poll of polls and runs 40,000 simulations to determine a likely winner.
As of this morning that results in a Biden win 89 times out of 100. Trump wins 10 and one goes to Capitol Hill to decide with neither candidate getting the required votes.
They also suggest that even if the polls are as far out as they were in 2016 that Biden would still win.
Sport for Business members Paddy Power and Boylesports both have a Biden win at odds on at 4/7 and 8/13 respectively. Each has betting opportunities on individual states and the other electoral races taking place as well.
We will be up and watching every minute, tweeting from @HartnettRob as the drama unfolds. If you are doing likewise then let’s do it together, apart, as the United States goes to the polls.
