In this picture made with a specialty lens Pink performs the national anthem before the NFL Super Bowl 52 football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

It ended as it started, with a whimper, not a bang.

The “it,” of course, was the kneel for the National Anthem. A stunt, I’m convinced Colin Kaepernick came up with to try to shame some NFL team in to giving him a job but which quickly got out of hand.

Throughout the season, President Trump has made it sort of his hobby to slam the overpaid babies who were refusing to show any respect to a nation that rewarded them handsomely for wearing tight pants and chasing a ball around for 11 minutes, once a week, sixteen times a year. He got thunderous applause when he brought the subject up during the State of the Union.

He brought it up again in his Super Bowl message.

There were rumors that there would be protests tonight, but, in the end it didn’t happen.

RT @AP_NFL The Latest: No players sit or kneel during the national anthem at the Super Bowl https://t.co/Gql7EcR0XD

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 4, 2018

Whether everyone just got tired of the childish bullsh**, or Trump managed to make life tough enough on the ingrates involved in the protest that they decided to grow up, or the players decided they wanted tomorrow’s discussion to be about the game and not the politics , I don’t know.

But, incredibly, AP is not running a single image of players standing for the National Anthem. I guess they didn’t want to rub it in.

It’s that easy. Well done. #nationalanthem.

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 4, 2018