Game Date: Sunday, September 20 2015
Teams: Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers
Network: NBC
You’re reading what I hope will be one of many Game Reports in which I document my growth as a novice NFL TV fan. You can check here if you’d like to learn more about my plans.
As you know, the Seattle Seahawks is one of the NFL teams I selected to hate, so this evening I was rooting for Green Bay. Now even an NFL rookie viewer like me is aware of the history and nostalgia surrounding the Green Bay Packers. You can’t live in this culture and not have heard of Vince Lombardi, nor can you possibly be aware that there is a strong regional rivalry between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers. So tuning into this game, I anticipated a fantastic evening of football. Instead, it was kind of a chore to watch. The only outcome I was hoping for was that Seattle would lose, and they did.
TV Razzle Dazzle
Fun opening montage with “Waitin’ All Day For Sunday Night” with Carrie Underwood.
I do like the way NBC has the players introduce themselves. Artsy graphics of — I noticed the one they had of Tom Brady a week ago in the opening game of the regular season. A quarterback comparison graphic was something I hadn’t seen before. Otherwise, typical high-energy coverage, superb camera work and instant editing/replays of all the action.
Entertainment value
1/5. Watching this show felt like an obligation. There were some nice plays but no moments that actually got me emotionally engaged.
Commercial commentary
Again, auto/trucks, upcoming NBC shows, and Fantasy Football were the most prolific categories for commercials. New this week: my Testosterone Factor for the commercials that were shown. I’ve developed a 7-point rating scale for commercials that will classify them as more male/female oriented (look for more details on that rating system in another post; for now it’s all in my head, but it’s still extremely scientific and accurate). Average T-rating for this show: 5.15/7. I’m also continuing to note commercials using a football theme to promote ordinary products (such as a football stadium setting, an NFL player as spokesperson, etc.) Commercials for products that are explicitly about football products (upcoming games, Fantasy Leagues, etc.) are not so noted.
Interesting Extras
Brett Favre/Aaron Rodgers split screen about passing with feet off the ground — an esoteric little piece of data. Flashback to an earlier game. Compared to the CBS telecasts so far this season, this show was fairly light on additional extra features. Some folks may consider that a plus. I find the background information interesting (but then I also watch DVD commentaries every chance I get).
So much to learn
Offsides. I think this is a hockey thing, too.
Points to Ponder
I wonder what percentage of the viewing audience gives a damn about all the stats. It’s gotta be hugely important information to somebody because they just never stop serving up the numbers.
Here’s the commercial roster for the show. I’ve sorted this one by category, but you can also see which quarter the ads were telecast and in what order.
| Quarter | Commercials: Seattle @ Green Bay, Sun 9/20/2016, NBC (*football theme) | Category | Ad Number | T-Factor : Avg 5.15 |
| 4 | Southwest | Airline | 67 | 3 |
| 4 | BMW | Auto | 93 | 6 |
| 4 | BMW 5 | Auto | 96 | 6 |
| 4 | BMW i3 | Auto | 102 | 4 |
| 4 | BMW* | Auto | 104 | 7 |
| 4 | Chevrolet | Auto | 68 | 4 |
| HT | Chevy Silverado | Auto | 53 | 6 |
| 4 | Chevy Silverado | Auto | 71 | 6 |
| 4 | Dodge RAM | Auto | 61 | 7 |
| HT | Hyundai | Auto | 55 | 3 |
| 1 | KIA Optima | Auto | 6 | 3 |
| 1 | KIA Optima | Auto | 14 | 7 |
| 1 | KIA Sorento | Auto | 12 | 6 |
| 1 | KIA Sorento | Auto | 17 | 5 |
| 4 | Mazda | Auto | 63 | 6 |
| 1 | National Car Rental | Auto | 23 | 7 |
| HT | Toyota | Auto | 58 | 2 |
| 2 | Toyota Camry | Auto | 32 | 4 |
| 2 | Toyota Corolla | Auto | 34 | 4 |
| 4 | Volkswagen | Auto | 76 | 6 |
| 4 | Volkswagen | Auto | 81 | 5 |
| 1 | Bud Light | Beer | 18 | 5 |
| 4 | Bud Light | Beer | 72 | 7 |
| HT | Michelob Golden Light | Beer | 56 | 4 |
| 2 | Michelob Ultra | Beer | 38 | 4 |
| 2 | Miller Lite* | Beer | 35 | 7 |
| 4 | Xfinity | Cable TV | 91 | 5 |
| 4 | Galaxy Tab S2 Samsung | Cellphone | 86 | 6 |
| 2 | iPhone 6S | Cellphone | 30 | 4 |
| 4 | iPhone Sprint | Cellphone | 82 | 4 |
| 1 | Samsung | Cellphone | 22 | 1 |
| 1 | Verizon | Cellphone | 11 | 6 |
| 4 | Verizon* | Cellphone | 74 | 5 |
| 4 | Verizon* (JJ Watt) | Cellphone | 94 | 5 |
| 2 | Windows 10 | Computer | 27 | 3 |
| 2 | Windows 10 | Computer | 33 | 3 |
| 4 | Windows 10 | Computer | 95 | 3 |
| 1 | Draft Kings | Fantasy Football | 15 | 5 |
| 2 | Draft Kings | Fantasy Football | 36 | 6 |
| 4 | Draft Kings | Fantasy Football | 77 | 6 |
| 1 | Fan Duels | Fantasy Football | 3 | 7 |
| 1 | Fan Duels | Fantasy Football | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | Fan Duels | Fantasy Football | 43 | 7 |
| 2 | American Express | Financial | 46 | 6 |
| 1 | E-trade | Financial | 24 | 2 |
| 4 | Navy Federal Credit Union | Financial | 100 | 2 |
| 4 | CBS/NFL Network | Football | 75 | 6 |
| 2 | Football Is Family | Football | 41 | 2 |
| 4 | Football.com | Football | 64 | 6 |
| HT | NFL Game Pass | Football | 57 | 7 |
| 1 | NFL Ticket Exchange | Football | 9 | 7 |
| 4 | NFL Ticket Exchange | Football | 88 | 7 |
| 4 | NFL Turning Point | Football | 66 | 6 |
| 1 | SNF All Access | Football | 5 | 6 |
| HT | American Family | Insurance | 54 | 6 |
| 2 | Geico | Insurance | 40 | 7 |
| 4 | Nationwide (Manning)* | Insurance | 105 | 6 |
| 4 | State Farm (Coneheads) | Insurance | 85 | 5 |
| 2 | USAA Salute to Service | Insurance | 47 | 5 |
| 4 | Air Force | Military | 97 | 6 |
| 4 | Bridge of Spies | Movie | 80 | 5 |
| 4 | Everest | Movie | 98 | 6 |
| 4 | Pan | Movie | 110 | 5 |
| 1 | Pitch Perfect 2 | Movie | 19 | 6 |
| 4 | Sicario | Movie | 73 | 6 |
| 1 | The Intern | Movie | 10 | 5 |
| 2 | The Martian | Movie | 48 | 5 |
| 1 | Sauvage Dior Cologne | Personal Hygiene | 20 | 7 |
| 2 | Cialis | Pharmaceuticals | 44 | 6 |
| 4 | Dairy Queen | Restaurants | 69 | 5 |
| 4 | Dairy Queen | Restaurants | 90 | 4 |
| 2 | McDonald’s | Restaurants | 29 | 4 |
| 4 | McDonald’s | Restaurants | 92 | 4 |
| 4 | McDonald’s | Restaurants | 106 | 4 |
| 4 | Papa Murphys | Restaurants | 62 | 2 |
| 2 | Subway | Restaurants | 49 | 6 |
| 1 | Trophy Talk – Subway | Restaurants | 4 | 7 |
| 2 | Att/Direct TV | Satellite TV | 42 | 6 |
| 4 | Att/Direct TV | Satellite TV | 108 | 5 |
| 1 | Direct TV (Luck) | Satellite TV | 26 | 7 |
| 1 | Direct TV (Manning)* | Satellite TV | 8 | 7 |
| 4 | Direct TV (Manning)* | Satellite TV | 78 | 7 |
| 1 | Best Time Ever | TV Show | 25 | 5 |
| 1 | Blindspot | TV Show | 16 | 5 |
| HT | Blindspot | TV Show | 52 | 4 |
| 4 | Blindspot | TV Show | 79 | 6 |
| 4 | Boxing Champions | TV Show | 107 | 6 |
| 2 | Heroes Reborn | TV Show | 45 | 6 |
| 4 | Heroes Reborn | TV Show | 83 | 6 |
| 4 | Law and Order SVU | TV Show | 103 | 2 |
| 4 | Nascar | TV Show | 59 | 5 |
| 4 | Nascar | TV Show | 89 | 5 |
| 2 | SVU Premiere | TV Show | 31 | 5 |
| 4 | The Blacklist | TV Show | 111 | 4 |
| 4 | The Mysteries of Laura | TV Show | 60 | 2 |
| 2 | The Player | TV Show | 50 | 7 |
| 1 | The Voice | TV Show | 21 | 4 |
| 2 | The Voice | TV Show | 37 | 5 |
| HT | The Voice | TV Show | 51 | 5 |
| 4 | The Voice | TV Show | 70 | 4 |
| 4 | The Voice | TV Show | 84 | 4 |
| 4 | Tonight Show | TV Show | 65 | 4 |
| 4 | Tonight Show | TV Show | 99 | 4 |
| 2 | GE | Utilities | 28 | 6 |
| 2 | GE | Utilities | 39 | 6 |
| 4 | Destiny | Video Game | 101 | 5 |
| 4 | Madden NFL 17 | Video Game | 109 | 7 |
| 1 | Xbox Fantasy Highlights* | Video Game | 13 | 7 |
| 4 | Centrum | Vitamins | 87 | 5 |
| 1 | KIA | 2 | 5 | |
| 1 | Verizon | 1 | 5 |
Oh my gosh! When did you go to the bathroom or get more chips and salsa???
Potty/snack breaks are during actual play. For me that’s still the least interesting part of the show (and Lord knows if anything good happens on the field it’ll be replayed ad infinitum).
Too true!