Excitement was building early Sunday as football fans prepared to catch one of the most watched games of the year.

According to a National Poll by Leger 41 per cent of Canadians said they would tune into Super Bowl 50.

Many bars and restaurants across the city said it would be one of their busiest nights of the year.

“Over 16,000 chicken wings get sold on Super Bowl Sunday across Canada, and beer obviously is a big seller as well, I think over 40,000 pints were poured across Canada at Boston Pizza, said Laura Grundy, Community Relations Coordinator at Boston Pizza in Ottawa, referring to last year’s sales.

But according to the Leger poll, the biggest seller of the night would be pizza.

41 per cent of those surveyed said they would be watching the game with a few slices, while 20 per cent said they preferred chicken wings, and only 3 per cent wanted nachos.

Restaurant staff at Jack Astor’s Bar & Grill said employees spent the morning getting ready during the calm before the storm.

“We’ve got decorations everywhere, we’re going to have squares for all the guests, we’ve got a lot of giveaways from the NFL, from Budweiser, and Bud Light, we’ve got jerseys , we’re got signed footballs, we’ve got a lot going on,” said Chris Ward, the assistant general manager.

With so much excitement to come, Ontario Provincial Police were reminding drivers to have a game plan before heading out.

“I think everyone knowns they shouldn’t be drinking and driving, but people may not realize they’re impaired. I think the most important thing is to have a plan before they start partying,” said Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.

Both Ottawa Police and OPP said they would be out conducting RIDE checkpoints Sunday evening.