Giants vs. Patriots turns into media circus; brings democrats and republicans together

Ah, the power of pigskin.

This weekend, the New England Patriots will look to become the first team in NFL history to make it through the regular season a perfect 16-0. Only the New York Giants stand in their way. After the Patriots’ “Spygate” came to light, there are very few outside of Boston pulling for the Pats. Regardless, everyone wants to see the game.

Except it’s on that freaking NFL Network.

In an attempt to get on basic cable, the NFL Network has been reserving exclusive live games each week as the regular season winds down. This year, they already grabbed Green Bay vs. Dallas, #1 and #2 in the NFC, thus keeping 60-70% of Americans from seeing it (statistics vary on the number on people who receive NFL Network). NFL Network is only offered on satellite and very few cable providers as premium content. Time Warner does not offer the channel at all.

Who wants a 24-7-365 football channel? Not mainstream cable users. Who would watch for anything more than these few live games at season’s end? Not mainstream cable users. NFL Network is trying a power play that may get an otherwise niche network into basic tier packages NBA TV could only dream of.

But this time, they had a game too many people wanted to see, and a chance to make a whole lot of money. Therefore, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the game would be seen on the NFL Network… and CBS… and NBC.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, “It’ll be like the State of the Union, on every channel.”

The political references don’t stop there. On Capitol Hill, senators took time out from working on pressing things to focus on football. Bipartisan efforts are tough to come by – be it the War in Iraq, healthcare, illegal immigration, etc. – it’s tough to get democrats and republicans on the same page.

But this was urgent.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) wrote a joint letter to Commissioner Goodell, expressing their concern over the NFL Network’s market positioning move and its detriment to the American football fan.

War, health, our country’s future – we’ll largely agree to disagree. Football? Don’t mess with our football. Maybe a frequent reader of this blog is correct, it has become America’s Sport. Then again, baseball had the Mitchell Report… ah, another argument for another day.

Back to the media aspect of the game. It will be the first NFL game to be simulcast on two broadcast networks since Super Bowl I in 1967, which aired on both CBS and NBC. Why are two networks jumping to broadcast the game? In 2007, football equals ratings. Largely propelled by the Patriots’ quest for perfection, NFL games occupy seven of the ten highest-rated programs on network television this fall. Even ESPN’s Monday Night Football scored a winner when the Pats were playing – the game against the Ravens was the most watched program in cable history. To be fair, that cable record is reset frequently, due to the ever-expanding number of satellite and cable viewers. The previous record was High School Musical 2 on Disney in August. Take that for what it’s worth, but you get the big picture – NBC, CBS, and especially the NFL stand to make a lot of money off this game.

In the end, I don’t mind when congressmen take a little time out to do something for their constituents. At one point this year, I had two senators, a representative, and a secretary of state all looking for my Passport and trying to get me on a boat. I like it when they fight for my football, too. Just take that bipartisan approach to other issues, as well.

As for the NFL holding games ransom… it may bite them. The networks who pay billions to the league for the right to air games cannot be happy with losing potentially historic matchups. Fans are not happy they miss out. If this is the only strategy to keep the NFL Network afloat, then maybe it does need to fit into its niche on satellite and premium cable, rather than cost the league fans and dollars.

Oh, and there is a game, right? Patriots win easily. I don’t care; I’ll be in Memphis.