With a touch of Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige, some glitz and glamor and tons of hoopla, the NFL season kicked off Thursday night with a made-for-TV event on the Mall in Washington.
Oh, and there was a game between the Redskins and the Jets as well.
That the NFL is at the peak of pro sports is no longer debatable. The game has elevated itself in part because it has solid labor relations, strong but manageable salary caps and free-agency policies, a once-a-week schedule and a structure that makes no one star bigger than the game. Parity, marketing and competitiveness all play major roles.
But if there is one thing that drives the NFL's popularity, it is television.
"You know how all week long you're waiting on Survivor to come on?" Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "That's how it is with football...It captures the whole nation, because there's nothing else on. Basketball you can get something else on. Baseball you can get something else on. There's nothing else on (when the NFL is on). They won't even put anything up against football. On Monday night at 8 p.m., they change the whole lineup on three networks just for Monday Night Football.
"That shows you just how popular it is. Then, for everything else going on in the world, for Super Bowl XXXVII to be the most-watched television show really puts it in perspective. No matter what's going on in the world, for those three hours, your chips and your dip and your team are the only things that are important."
Truth is, the NFL has thrived because of its ability to creep into your home on a Sunday or Monday (and the occasional Thursday and Saturday) and mesmerize you with its drama. To do so, the league and the networks have shaken hands on a $17.6-billion contract that keeps the NFL blood coursing through the American bloodstream. The league, the players and coaches and the networks understand how important they are to each other and each goes to great lengths to make it work.
"I think it's a factor with the once a week, your team is going to be on one time," Chargers general manager A.J. Smith told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Maybe if it was more than once a week, that fever pitch wouldn't be there. That one time you're on. They're going to win or lose and then it's on to the next week."
Said Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis: "It's drama. Plus, it's real. What happens there in three hours, there are no retakes; there are no do-overs; there's nothing fake about it. It's real; it's live; and it's in color. People like excitement, and we offer it."
Television has not affected the gate. Of the NFL's 256 games last season, 90 percent were sellouts, with a record average attendance of 66,326.
"You hear the baseball say theirs is the greatest game," Smith said. "The NBA. The hockey people. You hear all the people talk about it. Yet, the statistics will back up that the NFL is the No. 1 sport. There's no question."
FAMILIAR TERRITORY: Talk about your homecoming. Texans rookie receiver Andre Johnson is wasting no time returning to his home to play as a professional. His first NFL game will be today at Pro Player Stadium against the Dolphins.
The first-round draft pick attended high school and college in Miami and attended a number of Dolphins games growing up.
"I grew up right around the corner from the stadium. Miami was always my team," Johnson told the Houston Chronicle. "A lot of guys never really get to go back to their home town and play. For me to play in my first game is going to be crazy."
Johnson said he expects a large contingent of family and friends to be at the game.
"It's probably going to be weird for them," he said. "I grew up with the Dolphins as my team and my family was die-hard fans. For me to be playing on a team against Miami, they're probably asking, "Who do we root for?' I'm probably going to have some family members against me."
THREE'S A CROWD?: Now here's a brave new world very few are ready to step into. As the season opens in full swing today, five teams have only two quarterbacks on their active roster. The Bills, Broncos, Chargers, Redskins and Colts do not have a third-string quarterback.
And the Falcons and Dolphins, both of whom have three, have Michael Vick and Brian Griese, respectively, out for at least a month.
Confused? The growing trend in the league is to sacrifice the third quarterback, who seldom plays, and gain an extra body for special teams and depth on the offensive and defensive line.
Fine, but remember this, Philadelphia needed a 4-1 run by third-stringer A.J. Feely (subbing for Donovan McNabb and Koy Detmer) to keep the Eagles in last season's playoff hunt.
Surprisingly, former Bucs coach Tony Dungy is placing all his eggs in the Peyton Manning/Brock Huard basket. Dungy was coach in Tampa Bay when a rookie named Shaun King, the Bucs' third-string quarterback, came off the bench to lead the team to the NFC Championship Game.
LISTEN TO ME, SON: Already Cowboys coach Bill Parcells is having an effect on his players. Running back Troy Hambrick, a former standout at Pasco High, at one point last season weighed 255 pounds. Under the insistence of Parcells, Hambrick has been on a solid weight-loss regimen and is down to 237 pounds, the lightest he has been since his junior year at South Carolina.
"I feel quicker," Hambrick told the Star-Telegram. "I'm happy I made the change, with the hand of Coach Parcells."
The weight loss is paying off. Hambrick had his best effort in the final game of preseason, rushing for 60 yards on 12 carries.
"I think he's looked a little bit quicker," said Parcells, who wants Hambrick to drop a few more pounds. "I really think his loss of weight has helped him a lot."
TALL ORDER: New Bengals coach Marvin Lewis takes over a team that is 55-137 in the past 12 nonwinning seasons. The postseason drought is a league-high 12 years. San Diego is second at seven seasons.
CAN I BUY AN "A': Steelers tight end Matt Cushing made the 53-man roster again because he also can play fullback. Cushing will play behind starter Dan Kreider, the only fullback listed on the roster.
Asked if Cushing is the newest "Slash," referring to former quarterback/running back/receiver Kordell Stewart, Steelers coach Bill Cowher replied: "He's not a Slash. Slash refers to skilled people. Maybe Slush."
- Information from other news organizations was used in the report.
