OK, I’m excluding Asia, Africa, South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia from having any significant interest in the outcome of the Alabama-Auburn game on Nov. 30. Sure, there might be one or two people living on those continents who might care, but I think you’d agree there aren’t many.

That leaves North America. OK, by and large we can exclude Canada. They have hockey and they have Canadian football, which is different from the football played in the U.S. I would surmise, however, that the number of Canadians who might care about the Iron Bowl is probably greater than the number of Iron Bowl fans in Asia, Africa, Antarctica and South America combined.

We can exclude Mexico too. I’m just guessing but I’d say Canadian Iron Bowl fans, which aren’t many, would easily outnumber Mexican Iron Bowl fans. Again, I’m just guessing. And we can pretty much figure those smaller states in Central America and the Caribbean are woefully lacking in Iron Bowl fanatics.

Now we’re getting down to it: The United States. Let me urge caution here, however. Yes, because college football is a national sport that crowns a national champion, there are millions of football fans in the U.S. who will be taking an interest in the donnybrook on Nov. 30. But, but, but. Up north — that’s anywhere north of Limestone County — the interest in the game won’t result in the angst, rudeness, joy, exhilaration and downright mean-spiritedness that will be manifested here in Alabama as a result of the Iron Bowl.

New York City won’t slow down because of the game; nor will Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver or Seattle. What we essentially have here is one state of the United States; one small land area on the fourth largest continent on the planet; a couple of million people keenly interested in the Nov. 30 game, so much so that the score will be a matter of life and death, whereas 7 billion worldwide won’t ever know the game was played, let alone care about the score.

So, to the far-flung countries and states scattered across the globe where these 7 billion live, I apologize for our parochial nature down here on this little tract of land; I apologize for the big-to-do that we make over this annual Iron Bowl, something of which you know nothing and care nothing. Likewise, you know little of the sport to be played and probably even less about the two teams that will take the field.

That said, ALABAMA 38, AUBURN 13.

Bob Morgan is a retired, award-winning journalist and an author.