Gridiron still unites – even in Trump’s riven States
THIS past weekend was the best time of the year to be a fan of the NFL. Four play-off games stretched over two evenings with a couple of them shown at a reasonable hour on this side of the Atlantic. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Even in the midst of a pandemic that the United States has struggled to control – evident in a grisly death toll approaching 400,000 – the American Football show has gone on. In a society that has become so deeply fractured, it seems the NFL is one of the few things that unites the divided nation. It is one consistent feature of American life.
Donald Trump understood the power of the NFL when he targeted America’s most popular sport in his early days as a demagogue. The buffoon’s regular message was that the ratings were falling all because Colin Kaepernick took a knee to protest police brutality, almost four years before George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis.
For once, there was an actual
‘Sky’s coverage has been superb’
grain of truth in what Trump said. Television ratings have dipped slightly for the sport, but that’s only because people’s viewing habits have changed. The NFL’s popularity is still absolutely staggering. Superbowls make up 29 of the 30 most-watched television broadcasts of all time in the US – only denied complete dominance by the last episode of M*A*S*H which comes in at number nine.
Last year, 41 of the top 50 highest-rated television programmes in America were NFL games. Even in an era when people watch sport in different ways, it has remained must-see TV. As it was last weekend.
Sky Sports has taken ownership of the game in this part of the world with an entire channel dedicated to the NFL. As often happens when Sky gets things right, their coverage has been superb. Neil Reynolds is an excellent anchor who allows his pundits to take the lead on where the analysis is going. And he has a brilliant knack for explaining some of the idiosyncrasies of the NFL.
So, before Green Bay Packers’ game with LA Rams on Saturday, Reynolds pointed out that the do-or-die nature of these play-off games can be difficult to grasp for those who have grown up with the Premier League – although not necessarily for those of us in Ireland who had just witnessed a football championship revert to straight knock-out for the first time in two decades.
Packers are one of the great paradoxes of American life. Alone in the multi-billion dollar industry, they are owned by their fans and their community. They are a model of co-operation in this most American of institutions.
And despite not being backed by a millionaire owner, the Packers are one of the most successful franchises in the sport and this year they seem to be on a path to another Superbowl, propelled by the genius of Aaron Rodgers.
Their quarterback is the Zinedine Zidane of the sport and in the twilight of his career, seems to be improving. One commentator said as Rodgers weaved his magic against the Rams: ‘Somehow, at age 37, he has the best year of his career.’
Rodgers threw two touchdown passes and ran in himself for another. His performance was made even more special because there was a crowd inside Lambeau Field for the first time this season. At a safe distance, 9,000 fans watched – including 6.500 season ticket holders as well as healthcare workers and first responders who were invited by the Packers.
If we are accustomed to seeing Green Bay in the latter stages – next week will be their second consecutive NFC Championship game – the Buffalo Bills have been a play-off rarity. A team infamous for losing four Superbowls in a row in the early 1990s, returned to an AFC Championship tie for the first time in 25 years.
It was a more turgid affair than the opening game, with both defences on top. But those who stuck with it into the small hours got to see a fairytale completed.
‘The Bills have the people of Buffalo feeling as they haven’t felt in 20-something years,’ Cris Collinsworth said in commentary near the end of their 17-3 win over Baltimore Ravens. In a nation riven by division and placed in a very dangerous place by Trump’s idiotic rhetoric, the NFL, and stories such as the Bills, still can unify. Its most popular sport can still be the best of America, even at this time.
Ivan Yates adopted one of the worst aspects of American life when he went for the shock-jock schtick during his time on Newstalk. As well as that, Yates has attempted to be a politician. And a bookie. Neither successfully.
So, an attempt to be a sports broadcaster seems a natural extension.
Yates has been given a Friday prime-time slot by Virgin Media for his show, The Green Room. And the only question is why? Ironically, for a failed bookmaker, the show is sponsored by a betting firm who also contribute.
Conor Moore, the talented Mullingar man, is also drafted in but even his comedy seems to be dragged down as his Jurgen Klopp segment wasn’t of the same quality we have seen from him on the Golf Channel.
The ever-affable Peter Crouch was the special guest on Friday night, but he appeared bemused towards the end by Yates’ erratic questioning. Those of us watching were just as bemused.