As everyone knows, the Super Bowl is the biggest single-day sporting event in the world. As such, it attracts a large audience. However, about 28 percent of that audience will be watching their first football game of the season.
The presence of a casual audience causes Super Bowl pregame shows to be crafted to appeal, not just to the hard-core football fan, but to people who really have no rooting interest in the game.
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The networks will have plenty of solid and entertaining analysis, but there also will be some fluff and entertainment-related pregame programming that some fans can do without.
Let me help you plan your Super Bowl Sunday accordingly:
The NFL Network at 9 a.m » Rich Eisen, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders and Steve Mariucci will start things off with all the last-minute news on the game. The “NFL Playbook” team of Sterling Sharpe, Brian Baldinger, Brian Billick, Solomon Wilcots and Joe Theismann will break down both the Colts’ and the Saints’ game plans.
ESPN Sunday Countdown Super Bowl Edition at 10 a.m. » This is the show for the hard-core football fan. Chris Berman and analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson — with senior analyst Chris Mortensen and NFL insider Adam Schefter — will be dissecting every aspect of the game in a four-hour show.
CBS at 10:30 a.m. » Take a break from the ESPN pregame show and watch CBS’ Bob Schieffer do “Face the Nation” live from Sun Life Stadium. His guests will be NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz, Phil Simms and Shannon Sharpe. The show will go in-depth into the success of the NFL as well as the possible work stoppage that could wipe out the 2011 season.
Noon on CBS » NFL Films presents “Road to the Super Bowl.” This is one of my favorite shows each year and Steve Sabol and his team at NFL Films do a great job of telling us how both the Colts and the Saints got to Miami. This is a can’t-miss show and a great program to share with the casual fan.
OK, it’s time to use that remote from 2 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. You can choose between the NFL Network and their often off-the-cuff loose coverage that features players talking about the game. Meanwhile, over at CBS, they will have plenty of well-produced features — including Bill Cowher’s exclusive interview with Plaxico Burress. James Brown will be looking at the rebirth of the city of New Orleans. Dan Marino will have a feature on Peyton Manning.
On Super Bowl Sunday, the key to the shows is just like the key to the food — it’s all about variety.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on washingtonexaminer.com.
