Keith Groller February 9, 2010
The NF L capped its best season ever in terms of popularity with record viewership on Sunday, drawing an average of 106.5 million viewers and beating the
M*A*S*H series finale in 1983 as the most-watched program in television history.
A weekend in which a good portion of the country was digging out from a major snowstorm, along with the lure of several compelling story lines and (supposed) explosive offenses, all factored into blockbuster numbers and capped another year that cemented pro football as our nation's most popular sport.
As for the broadcast itself,
CBS was unspectacular, but solid.
They don't overdo the facial shots the way Fox, in particular, does, and limited the suite shots of the Mannings. May have seen a little more of Sean Payton than I'd have liked, but his decision to begin the second half with an onside kick will be hailed as one of the great coaching moves in
Super Bowl history.
By the way, has the scrum for the ball ended yet?
Jim Nantz and Phil Simms are not as good as Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth and probably don't agitate as much as Joe Buck and
Troy Aikman.
Their best trait is they stick to the action and don't over-dramatize any particular play or series.
Nantz, prepping well, noted that this was the 13th straight year the
NFC team won the coin toss and added that there are ''8,100-to-1 odds'' against it happening.
When Pierre Garcon dropped a potential big-gainer over the middle with the
Colts up 10-3 in the second quarter, Nantz came up prescient by calling it a possible ''momentum-changer.''
It was the last pass
Peyton Manning would throw for more than a hour in actual time.
The game had a weird flow for the casual, non-rooting viewer. The Colts get out to 10-0 lead and you're thinking it's over and then you especially think it's over after the Colts make the goal-line stand just before halftime.
Then you think ''Oh, how nice'' it is that the Saints fight back and make a game of it, but ultimately, you figure Manning and the Colts will find a way in the end.
You're still thinking that way until the Tracy Porter interception and return.
Even after that, you think maybe Manning can pull off a miracle.
But then suddenly, the game ends and the
New Orleans Saints, incredibly, are Super Bowl champs.
Some other quick observations:
Tom Fallon of local
ESPN radio e-mailed to say he thought it was too much for CBS analysts to be wearing
Mardi Gras beads immediately after the game. ''They can say 'good for them and the city' over and over in the postgame show Â… but actually wearing party beads crossed a line.''
But all of the announcers seemed overly thrilled the Saints won with Chris Berman, Steve Young and Tom Jackson gushing on ESPN. Haven't detected this kind of one-sided sentiment since the Pats beat the Rams in 2002 and everyone thought it was so appropriate that a team wearing red, white and blue and called
Patriots would win the first Super Bowl after the
9/11 tragedy.
Great shot of Drew Brees, his eyes misting, holding his young son Baylen in the postgame celebration. Baylen was wearing headphones to minimize crowd noise.
Queen Latifah and
Carrie Underwood were more in tune before the game than The Who was at halftime, although that stage was amazing. CBS didn't mind the song selections either since they are the themes to a couple of their biggest drama hits.
The
NFL Network's marathon pregame show was without
Warren Sapp, who was arrested after an alleged incident of domestic violence, but there was more than enough -- too much, really -- analysis, including a discussion about the demeanor of Manning's face as he entered the stadium.
Super Bowl most watched TV show ever
