Pre-game estimates of the worldwide television audience for last night's Superbowl broadcast were in the range of about 190 million with a US audience expected to be at least as big as last year's 114 million. We'll find out this week but I expect that the ratings will prove to have slipped a little as the game was not especially compelling throughout and the final few minutes provided little drama as the Broncos relatively easily closed out the third Superbowl win in franchise history.
While the Superbowl remains the largest annual television event in the US, its worldwide audience is dwarfed by the summer Olympics and by the FIFA World Cup. The IOC estimated that 3.6 billion viewers watched at least one minute of the London games in 2012 and FIFA says that its 2014 World Cup tournament reached 3.2 billion viewers around the world. In terms of non-sporting events, Princess Diana's 1997 funeral drew about 2.5 billion viewers.
The game last night came down to two plays, both involving the Broncos Von Miller and Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. Miller forced Newton to fumble on each play deep in his own end and the Broncos converted both turnovers into touchdowns which together represented the 14 point margin of victory. Was the Denver defence just really good last night or did Cam Newton have his worst game of the year? I'd say both. We've always heard that defence wins championships but I had predicted that Carolina's offence would find a way to run over the league's number one ranked defence. I was obviously wrong.
I hope that Bills coach Rex Ryan was watching carefully and that the game will motivate him and his twin brother Rob to restore the Bills defence to something closer to its 2014 form. I also hope that the team can sign its linebacker (and my namesake), Nigel Bradham, to a new contract now that he is a free agent. If he signs a long term deal in Buffalo, I hereby undertake to purchase his game jersey. He's probably headed elsewhere, thereby saving me about $150 USD.
So, another NFL season is in the books. And just in time maybe as the Commissioner Roger Goodell spent as much time talking down growing concerns about concussions and their long term effects on players as he did about the continued competitive and financial success of the league. The latest serving of bad news in this regard is related to Oakland Raider great Ken Stabler, who died last year of complications related to colon cancer. Last week, just in time for the final few days of Superbowl hype, it was announced that his brain was found to have advanced CTE, the much-feared degenerative disease caused by repeated concussions. Goodell continues to tell us that player safety is of paramount importance to the league as evidenced by recent rule changes, equipment innovations and its ever-improving concussion "protocol". He claims that the game has never been safer for players but this obviously ignores the fact that the basic nature of the game is inherently dangerous and that can not and will not change. In his "state of the league" press conference last week, Goodell went so far as to directly encourage more participation in junior football programs as football builds character and teaches teamwork and discipline. While youth participation in all organized team sports is down across the US over the last decade or so, football has seen an 18% drop in participation as more parents are steering their kids clear of what they know is a dangerous game. The families of Mike Webster, Dave Duerson, Junior Seau and many others can surely relate,
But the NFL will endure - at least for the time being. Fans will now turn their attention to the off-season rituals of the scouting combine, free agency, the draft, spring OTAs and then, by the end of July, training camps will open and the 2016 season will get underway after Labour Day. I know I'll be there.
