9781422284223

CHAPTER FOOTBALL’S GREATEST MOMENTS By far the most popular game in America, professional football, as embodied by the National Football League (NFL) brand, dominates the sporting landscape. In 2015, the Super Bowl was the most-watched program in U.S. television history, with more than 114 million viewers. This allowed rates for the 2016 game to be set at a record $5 million for a 30 second ad, generating more than $350 million for broadcaster CBS.

Football’s popularity lives far beyond the boundaries of its signature event. On a weekly basis from September into January, fans flock to stadiums across the country to watch their local teams compete. This is no passing fancy. In Green Bay, the Packers have a waiting list for season tickets. There are more than 100,000 names on it. The list continues to grow as new parents add the names of their babies as soon as the ink dries on the birth certificate. Those babies will be 30 before they get near the top. Twenty-four of 32 teams currently have a wait list for season tickets, but the popularity of NFL football is perhaps best encapsulated by the tradition of tailgating, that is, eating and drinking in parking lots off the tailgate of your vehicle. It is almost a sacred ritual at some stadiums, where fans arrive hours before the game to demonstrate camaraderie with their fellow supporters. In Cleveland, Ohio, for example, fans arrive at 7 a.m., even for games that do not start until 8 p.m. In Kansas City, fans stage homemade BBQ sauce competitions. In Philadelphia, strangers welcome each other over hot grills in September and hot tubs in January. Every game is an event, celebrated with gusto by loyal fans. Ticketless fans hold similar celebrations in each other’s homes every week, gathering to feast together and watch games on TV, from preseason to playoffs, and especially for the Super Bowl. Three generations of Americans have grown up watching the NFL Championship on television. Since the first coast-to-coast broadcast in 1951, the game’s most significant moments have unfolded in living rooms across the country.

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