Somewhere, Paul Tagliabue is Crying

In my earlier rambling post, which included a couple thoughts on the Oscars, I said how it didnt matter who hosted the Oscars, but that the ratings would surely drop. The same is true about the Super Bowl. With so many options for home viewers, including the recent trend of strong counter-programming by other networks and cable, the Super Bowl ratings have been stagnating as of late. Last year's Pats-Eagles game reached an estimated 86.1 million people, the '03 game found 89.8 million. According to the AP, the ratings of the Super Bowl reached its apex in 1996 with Dallas vs. Pittsburgh (94 million). I hate the post-game ratings story, because it rarely means anything. That being said, Tags has to be quite upset over what transpired this past weekend.

Seattle...Carolina....Pittsburgh...and Denver. Four teams that no one outside of their geographic reasons, all realtively small metropolitan areas. Found this site listing population via metro area as of 2004, since the Census page is unnavigable, Seattle/Tacoma is the 13th biggest metro area by population; Denver is 19th; Pittsburgh is the 21st; Charlotte, NC is the 24th. None of them even crack the top 10. Had Indianapolis won, they would have been the smallest market at 27th...but no self-respecting sports fan would miss Indy in the Super Bowl. Tags lost out on Boston, Chicago, and Washington--3 top 10 markets and 2 top 5's.

On top of that, what are the compelling matchups? Seattle has no one who brings a great story to the big game. Maybe its Hasselbeck's longtime struggle with baldness...or Holmgren's issue with looking like a walrus. Carolina has a potential to bring actual talent to the table, and Steve Smith deserves a chance to prove the MVP voting is a joke. Denver has their Johnny Damon character with Jake Plummer's beard...but not much else other than Mike Shanahan's inability to win without Elway.

I see Pittsburgh as the best chance for an underdog story. The Bus? Last game before walking off into the sunset? Doesn't get much better than that. And Bill Cowher is a hoot to watch in big games...whether he's winning or losing. Pitt has the most history of any of the Final Four...another plus.

Everyone, from ABC Sports to Tags to everyone outside of Denver, should be rooting for the Steelers for the AFC Crown...it'll make for a better Super Bowl. And with the NFC?

Whatever.