Already some nonsense over the Cats-Pats “low-wattage” Super Bowl from TV-industry types. The working assumption seems to be that you need teams with big national followings like the Dallas Cowboys or Green Bay Packers to deliver big ratings.
But the fact is that what matters most in keeping eyeballs on the TV set is a close, exciting game. In recent years the highest rated Super Bowl featured the Tennessee Titans, who hail from a market, Nashville, that is even smaller than Charlotte. However, the Titans did not lose to the St. Louis Rams in 2000 until the final play of the game.
Besides, as CBS execs who will televise this year’s game note, toss other TV markets in the Carolinas into the mix and the Panthers have a drawing area that is a top-five TV market. Anyone who has sweated through the season with the Panthers know they specialize in last-second finishes, so the assumption should be for big, big ratings, not the opposite.
