Posted: February 09, 2012 at 11:24 pm
Being that I’m not a football fan, it stands to reason that the Super Bowl isn’t normally high on my priority list. But I felt I had a vested interest in tracking the results of Super Bowl XLVI this year for a few reasons. First of all, I’m from Fort Wayne, Indiana (don’t hate) and since the big game was being held in Indianapolis this year I wanted to be sure my state delivered a quality product of which I could be proud. Secondly, I was interested in seeing if this year’s Super Bowl XLVI could deliver more viewers than last’s record setting game (including African-American viewers). And lastly, I love creativity and wanted to see how much was apparent in the commercials that usually debut during the game. So of course I did not actually watch the game. But hey, I work for a research company, so I know exactly what happened!
Apparently, Indianapolis delivered. There were no major catastrophes or mishaps that will make the state hang its head in shame. In fact, I dare say I had a couple of East Coast friends who attended the game say how impressed they were with the city. That they were surprised not to see corn stalks growing in the middle of downtown. Yes, we Hoosiers can be sophisticated when we need to be.
As for delivering viewers – Super Bowl XLVI did not disappoint. I have observed in previous columns that the popularity of football seems to have replaced baseball as that age-old American pastime – at least when it comes to television viewing. Last year, Super Bowl XLV, ranked as the #1 Most Watched Show for African- Americans (ages 2+), with 12.5 million viewers, from January 2011 – June 2011. This year’s Super Bowl XLVI upheld that new tradition, and attracted even more viewers, an estimated 111.3 million total viewers. Whether you are a diehard fan or a non-football enthusiast such as myself – that’s pretty impressive. (At press time I didn’t know how many of this year’s viewers were Black, but of course I’ll share that(...)
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