Super Bowl Beats Everything on TV, Ever

Definitely somewhat related to the backstory of the New Orleans Saints and the city of New Orleans

WHOO-HOO! Couldn’t have happened to a better team. But holy saints JP, you haven’t said anything about “Undercover Boss”. Did Valentines day come early for corporate America or what. What a brainwashing load of drivel. I’ll be interested to hear your take.

You’d have to figure that the number of people who didn’t necessarily have to work the next morning might have opened up many-o-schedule’s Sunday evening…plus, at the risk of sounding like an All-State commercial, tough economic times lend support to events that cater to small get-togethers of social support structures (friends, family, etc.)…if you’re already crashing on your parents couch because you can’t afford the rent, why not stick around for their Super Bowl party?

I’m not a big sports guy either, but if that many people saw the game, that many people have the city of New Orleans on their minds, at least for a little while. So the issues that city still faces come to mind and hopefully there will be more attention paid to rebuilding efforts, federal and state funding and more philanthropy and donations to this country’s terrible tragedy. Perhaps it’s time to do one of those celebrity marathons again. I know there was one right after Katrina, but if the city still needs a lot of work, thus requiring a lot of money, anything helps.

I doubt New Orleans had anything to do with it; both the AFC & NFC Championship games had record or near record numbers, and New Orleans obviously had nothing to do with the AFC game.

MASH’s record was living on borrowed time anyway; sure, there may be a thousand more channels than in the past, but the population continues to increase as well. It was only a matter of time until a live event (Super Bowl, Olympics, maybe even an American Idol) took the crown.

As to why football specifically: there are a lot of structural reasons for why football takes the crown.

First, there is fantasy football, and more people than ever are at least skimming the games for their fantasy leagues.

Second, the number, and regularity, of games is near optimal. Sports like baseball and basketball have so many games per season that you can miss dozens and see no real difference in the outcome; with only 16 games, and the drastic differences in postseason chances between a 10-6 record and a 8-8 record, each game matters far more in football. Also, unlike, say soccer, the big game is held every year (rather than every four for the world cup championships) and the scheduling is far more regular – those Saturdays & Sundays, you know when the big games will be. Compare to, say, baseball, where the best of 7 setup (and irregular scheduling even inside that series) means I have no idea when the deciding games will be, even on the last day of the regular season.

Third, football has (so far) had the longest run of labor dispute-free seasons. Every year, there will be a Super Bowl, and that regularity causes the invent to automatically grow. It will be interesting to see how football recovers after their upcoming dispute*.

(*This next season is almost certain to be played without a salary floor or cap, leading to significantly lopsided teams, and the year after will almost certainly be strike shortened, if it is played at all. It could be until 2020 before ratings recover to this year’s level, even with population growth.)

It will be interesting to see how football recovers after their upcoming dispute*.

(*This next season is almost certain to be played without a salary floor or cap, leading to significantly lopsided teams, and the year after will almost certainly be strike shortened, if it is played at all. It could be until 2020 before ratings recover to this year’s level, even with population growth.)

I’ve only vaguely heard of this upcoming dispute. What’s about?

Previous commenters have laid out most of the main reasons why I think football is riding high from a ratings perspective.

I would add that, after a long period where the game was stereotypically a blow-out, the past decade has had a series of spectacular games, especially the past two seasons. Everyone I knew genuinely expected a great, close game, which would have been unheard of circa 1995.

Also, what this year had over some previous years was that it was a match-up that had excitement building most of the year. The Saints and Colts were both undefeated well into the season and did not face each other in the regular year. Many hardcore football folks, if asked before or during the season what they thought the Super Bowl matchup would be, might have said “Well, I think it will be BLANK, but I’m hoping it will be Saints/Colts, because that would be really fun to watch.” Even Giants/Patriots did not have that kind of anticipation.

I just posted some thoughts on the show. You may not care for them; well, half of them anyway.

Short version: the owners have chosen to drop out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the players’ union and the owners. The CBA said that 60% of all money the league took in would go to players; the ownership has said that portion of proceeds is not enough.

As a result of ownership dropping the CBA, this upcoming season will have no salary cap or floor, and then the season after won’t be played at all unless a new agreement with labor is met.

As to the merits of ownership’s claims? Unknown, but probably valid. 31 teams are privately held, so no one outside knows for sure just what their profitability is.

However, the Green Bay Packers are a publicly owned “corporation”. (Though the stock is non-transferable, not listed on any exchange, has no voting rights, etc.) The last year I saw numbers for, the 2007 season, the Packers reported profit of $20 million for the season. Now, that hardly sounds like spare change, but it is worth nothing the following:

That year, the Packers advanced all the way to the NFC Championship game (and thus earned the profit of two home playoff games the majority of the league did not).

That Packers’ total salary was well below the cap; in fact, they were well below $20 million under the cap.

Apparel sales were especially strong, as many thought Favre would retire after the season. (Which he actually did; the problem was staying retired.)

The Packers are in a unique situation with their stadium; the stadium will never be replaced, and renovations were partially funded by a stock offering (which, with the stock limitations previously mentioned, is effectively fans throwing money at the team). No other team can benefit from such a situation.

$20 mil may sound like a lot, but it is within spitting distance of what some individual players make.

So from the one public data point, it sounds like teams that get sweetheart stadium deals, that pay near the minimum in salaries, and have multiple extra home game profits can barely make what individual players can. It is not impossible that smaller market teams, dealing with new stadium construction, or large payrolls, could be in or near the red.

the only reason the super bowl is such a big draw is sports betting.

almost every office has a pool and it suckers everyone into the depths.