Not being a football fan, I would have supposed that the trend evident in 2016 would continue. About 2/3 of the top viewed television shows that year were football related. The Super Bowl was frequently referred to as the Super Bore. We mostly tuned in for the commercials.
In 2022, 82% of the top 100 television shows are football centric.
As I have mentioned many times, football is a shelter from the storm. It is one of the few things people can discuss without someone inserting a sentence that starts with something like, “Yeah, but if it was Donald Trump . . . .”
Due to that social phenomenon, there is good reason for a political and policy analyst to be jealous of Kirk Herbstreit and Jim Nance. Their job is to describe the game before them and apply their years of experience to prognosticate on the tactics and strategy of the teams on the field. Ultimately the day’s best is decided by the score on the board and nothing more.
No one suggests foregoing the coin toss in favor of mutually agreeing which team gets the kick-off. Referees are not considered fair game for protests in front of their homes. Disagreements are left on the field.
I wonder what Jim or Kirk would say if someone were to suggest they were University of Georgia or Chicago Bears partisans. It would probably sound a lot like my old boss, Jimmy Bradford.
One day a client complained Mr. Bradford's firm, J.C. Bradford & Co., was being partisan – hard to imagine in those days – about a long-forgotten topic. His response: “We are hear to tell you what you need to know, not what you want to hear.”
Words to live by for football fans and investors the world over.
Have a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday. May your team win.
Have a great rest of your weekend.
Emily Evans
Managing Director – Health Policy
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