The Kaepernick Effect: Superbowl Ratings Are In and NFL Is Humiliated, Worst In More Than A Decade

Despite some mediocre rebounds in ratings during the regular season, the NFL was humiliated over the awful ratings between the Pats and Rams last night.

I remember growing up in southern Indiana, dreaming of being my favorite football player, Dick Butkus, the legendary linebacker for the Chicago Bears. Even when I played other positions, even on offense, I still wanted to be him.

Now, a two-bit quarterback, booted from the San Francisco 49’ers, has pretty much ruined backyard pick up games AND the NFL alike.

I call it the “Kaepernick Effect” and even though I still love the game, I have lost interest in watching.

I can’t get past the fact that these players, gifted by God with talent have the audacity to disrespect the very country that made it possible for them to become millionaires, many of them unable to read and write at a high school level.

And apperently, I am not the only one. The Super Bowl LIII match-up drew a 44.9 overnight rating on CBS. Making it the lowest-rated Super Bowl in 10 years.

Not only were the Super Bowl LIII ratings disgraceful, the poor numbers reflect a downward trend in the big game’s television numbers, that stretches back to 2015.

According to Deadline:

Shown on CBS for the first time since 2016 and with ad spots going for around $5 million each, the Rams’ loss scored a 44.9/68 in metered market results.

To put that in the starkest light of day, that’s a dip of just over 5.2% from the big NFL battle of February 4, 2018 on NBC in the first round of ratings. On a larger playing field, that metered market result for yesterday’s game is the worst the Super Bowl has done in the early numbers since the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals on February 1, 2009.

A very tight and seamlessly flowing offering from the network, yesterday’s Super Bowl is also down a bit over 8% from the metered markets of the last time CBS had the game three years ago.

According to Fox News:

The low-scoring Super Bowl LIII was also low-scoring in terms of ratings. Early reports indicate that the big game hit a ten-year low in viewership.

The New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in what many are calling one of the most boring Super Bowl games on record. It’s unclear if the uneventful game contributed to the low ratings, but The Hollywood Reporter notes that ratings were roughly 44.9 household rating in overnight metered markets. This number is down 5 percent from a year ago and the lowest since the 2009 game, which drew 42.1 according to Nielsen figures.

What will the NFL do to return to their former glory? Heaven only knows since it does not seem like Roger Goodel has the stomach to take on the anti-American kneelers and protesters poisoning the game.