NFL Super Bowl Report No. 2, Sunday Jan. 25, 2009
TAMPA — Three things rattling around in my cranium as I wait in sunny Florida for the Super Bowl teams to arrive…
1) I’m told here in Tampa that Jon Gruden’s firing as the head coach of the Buccaneers’ last week came as a surprise to a number of people around the NFL. Not sure I know why that is, but I certainly know now that it wasn’t a surprise for Bucs players. In fact, former CFL star, now Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia was one player who said a change absolutely, positively had to be made.
Garcia told reporters in Tampa on the day we arrived that he felt Gruden’s lousy relationship with the folks in the locker room played a key role in his dismissal. According to my friends at the Tampa Tribune, the veteran quarterback had a long-running feud with Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen. As a result of the Bucs’ preseason love affair with Brett Favre and its reluctance to renegotiate Garcia’s contract last summer, the quarterback didn’t have much a relationship with either of the since-departed Bucs bosses.
In fact, you might say that if there was one player responsible for Gruden’s firing, it was Jeff Garcia.
2) As we get set for Super Bowl XLIII, ever wondered how popular the NFL is?
Here in Tampa’s media centre, the NFL last out pages and pages of quotes and information. I picked this one up Sunday morning, it kind of answers the previous question: 225 million Americans watched NFL games during the 2008 regular season – nearly 100 million more than the record number of Americans who voted in the 2008 presidential election (131.2 million).
NFL games on broadcast TV (CBS, FOX and NBC) averaged 16.6 million viewers. On cable, NFL games on ESPN averaged 12.0 million viewers and 4.9 million viewers on NFL Network.
Super Bowl XLII was the most-watched TV program ever (148.3 million total viewers). The 17 most-watched programs in TV history are all Super Bowls. And Super Bowl XLII was watched in 223 countries and territories in 30 different languages.
Hmmm. Pretty popular game.
3) With the NFL Experience going strong today, Super Bowl Week has officially begun here in Tampa. The teams arrive this afternoon and by 1:30, the first official Super Bowl interviews will have begun.
Just to set the record straight, Arizona will wear their home reds on Sunday, Pittsburgh will wear road whites. NFL legends Lynn Swann, Roger Craig and John Elway will flip the special 24 kt. gold two-tone coin while Joe Namath will present the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
As of this morning, the Steelers are seven-point favourites.
Related posts: