By Daniel Winningham
Football, and in particular, professional American football, is unquestionably the favorite entertainment option and has been for quite a long time.
Eight of the top 10 most viewed television programs from 2021 involved the National Football League. Regular season or not, if it’s American-style football, it stands a great chance of being watched, and by a lot of people. From Super Bowl LV, which was No. 1, or a playoff game (No. 2, 3, 5, 6 and 10) to the start of the regular season (Dallas at Tampa Bay, Sept. 9), viewers were tuned in to professional football most of the time. Other than “The Equalizer” series premiere which aired directly after last year’s Super Bowl, the only non-football related program in the top 10 was Oprah’s interview with Meghan (Duchess of Sussex) and Prince Harry (Duke of Sussex, which appeared on CBS last March.
Of the 30 most-watched primetime telecasts of 2021, there were 22 involving the NFL. Summer Olympics telecasts on NBC as well as the NCAA college football championship and one the semifinals each accounted for two more slots among the top 30.
Despite those with nostalgic and outdated feelings of America’s pastime of baseball, the truth is that baseball long ago passed its time as the favored sport in the U.S. The highest rated Major League Baseball telecast was Game 6 of the World Series (No. 40, Nov. 2).
Separated from futbol (aka soccer, which is the most popular sport on every other populated continent), in American football, the objective while on offense is to “touch down” in the end zone (six points) rather than boot the ball into the back of the net (goal). Of course, there also is the option of kicking a field goal (three points).
Professional football could trot out the worst team’s in the league on any given Thursday, Sunday or Monday evening and the NFL programming is bound to syphen viewers by the millions. That’s all well and good, but it’s just nice to see closely contested games when more viewers are tuned in.
Five of the last six NFL playoff games were decided on the final play, including all four in the Jan. 22-23 divisional round. Two of the contests needed overtime.
In one playoff matchup, between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers, the visiting Niners didn’t hold a lead until the clock read triple zeroes. Field goals on the final play eliminated the home teams in the first three divisional playoff games. In the finale, a field goal was needed to force overtime, ahead of the home team winning on a walk-off touchdown. I’m not going to advocate for the changing of OT rules. That’s for another time and place. If three-plus hours isn’t enough time to determine a winner, well, the extra session isn’t required to be fair. Make enough plays in regular and the game won’t ever get to overtime.
While there may be more of a focus on quarterback play and touchdown passes, it’s inarguable that the most dramatic plays over the past two weekends of NFL games have involved kickers. You know, the guys that use their feet.
More points are typically scored on pass receptions and rushing attempts, but would teams that qualified for the postseason this year be as successful as they are without the work of a quality placekicker?
Forty years ago, in 1982, a kicker, Mark Moseley of the Washington Redskins was named the league’s most valuable player after making 20 of 21 field goal attempts. The team went 8-1 in a shortened season and won Super Bowl XVII in January 1983 over the Dolphins. Only two of Washington’s wins that season were by three points or fewer, an overtime 37-34 road victory over Philadephia in the first week and a 15-14 home win over the New York Giants in December. The point is that kicking matters, even when many fans are paying attention to other aspects of the game.
Yes, in the great game of football, kicking matters (it matters in futbol, too, folks but this column is primarily about football). Now, in American football it’ll only result in three points as opposed to six with a “touch down” but when it’s a tie game and time is running out, three points are better than none. Ask any fan of the Titans, Packers, Bucs and Chiefs. They know.
-Thanks for reading
Daniel Winningham is the managing editor of the Republic-Monitor. He can be reached at 573-547-4567, ext. 227 or email editor@perryvillenews.com.
