data-mm-id=”_k082qhl8p”>Sunday evening's postseason rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills was highly anticipated by both the hardcore sports fans and casual fans alike. One does not need to watch First Take to understand the major players and what was at stake. Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen with a trip to the AFC Championship on the line is simple and intriguing, and these teams have a track record of playing competitive, close games. This year had an extra Taylor Swift element, too. People were always going to watch in large quantities. Then Mahomes and Allen delivered another incredible game that came down to the wire and ended in heartbreak for Buffalo (again). All that drove absolutely massive viewership numbers. CBS announced on Tuesday that over 50 million people tuned in to watch, numbers nigh unheard-of (even for the NFL, which is king) outside of Super Bowls. The @NFLonCBS scores the most-watched NFL Divisional Playoff Game ever as Chiefs-Bills is the first to surpass 50 million viewers (50.393).Sunday’s game peaked with more than 56 million viewers (56.250).More info here: https://t.co/cVrPE0x1Tq pic.twitter.com/1qdlSDDss7— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) January 23, 2024Just absolutely gigantic numbers. As noted by CBS it's a 10 percent increase over last year's window, which featured the longtime ratings giant Dallas Cowboys. It's legitimately impressive that CBS was able to pull this off, even for a big playoff game; numbers north of 50 million viewers are always reserved for either the Championship Game or the Super Bowl. That's the biggest takeaway. These are stupidly big numbers. The other takeaway involves Mahomes. His track record in the viewership department has always been stellar. He started his career as a must-watch superstar and has only gotten better. He is box office, as Stephen A. Smith likes to say, and one of the few athletes who people shift their schedule around to watch. It's been like that for a few years now. But now that Mahomes is setting records, it feels appropriate to draw a parallel to his only modern NFL viewership equivalent– Tom Brady. There's a lot that goes into viewership for an NFL game, like the quality of the teams and the stakes. But the superstars are what drive the biggest numbers, and there was no bigger superstar than Tom Brady. Brady's opening night with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his return to New England are two of the five highest-rated regular season games in football history. His impact obviously extends to the postseason; the last time Brady was in a Championship Game, he helped drive 46 million viewers for Packers-Bucs. His final AFCCG as a Patriot was in 2019 and 53 million people tuned in to watch. Networks were always thrilled when they got Brady for any game, but especially in the playoffs. Mahomes is that guy now. A mere divisional round game broke the 50-million viewer mark and the peak of 56 million was more than the Chiefs-Patriots Championship Game five years ago. You cannot solely attribute it to Mahomes but you can successfully argue that there is a big bump thanks to his participation, which is a status very, very few players are capable of reaching. Brady might be gone but we've known Mahomes was his heir apparent for years. Now it's true even in the viewership realm. Mahomes is the new Brady and networks will continue to fight tooth and nail for the right to broadcast his games.
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Seeler spent his 19-year playing career, spanning from 1953 to 1972, with Hamburg and is considered the greatest player in the German club s history.
He also earned 72 caps for West Germany and played in their 1966 World Cup final defeat to England.
The news of Seeler s death was confirmed by Hamburg, where he also worked as president for three years in the 1990s, in a statement on their official website.
Uwe stands for everything that characterises a good person: down-to-earthness, loyalty, joie de vivre, plus he was always approachable, said HSV board member Jonas Boldt.
He is the epitome of HSV. I personally have special memories of our get-together on his last birthday. He talked sh…
Declan Rice s West Ham contract is due to expire next year and he has rejected fresh terms, prompting interest from rival English clubs.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City have all been linked with the 24-year-old England international midfielder.
But the Hammers have rated Rice at £100million, which would be close to a British-record transfer fee.
TOP STORY – CITY TAKE POLE POSITION FOR RICE
Manchester City are leading the pursuit to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, reports TEAMtalk.
The report claims City have come into contention with a probable trio of off-season departures paving the way for the English champions to afford the move.
Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are all potentially on the way …
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hailed a dominant first-half performance from Manchester United against Tottenham, describing it as his side s best display for a long time .
United were winless in three in all competitions coming into a first meeting with Jose Mourinho since his sacking as their manager at Old Trafford.
But Solskjaer s men ended Mourinho s winning start at Spurs with a 2-1 success, scoring early in both halves through the inspired Marcus Rashford.
Dele Alli scored a wonderful equaliser six minutes before half-time, which Solskjaer acknowledged was tough to take after controlling the game to that point.
Especially first half, that s probably the best we ve played for a long time, he told Prime Video. We dominated the game and could have, should have…
Didier Deschamps insisted pleasing Kylian Mbappe played no part in his decision to make the Paris Saint-Germain star France captain.
Hugo Lloris retirement vacated the France captaincy, with Mbappe named as the new skipper earlier this week ahead of Euro 2024 qualifiers against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.
Mbappe revealed on Thursday that Antoine Griezmann, one of France s longest-serving players, was disappointed by the decision, though Deschamps refuted the suggestion he made the call to appease the 24-year-old, who won the Golden Boot at last year s World Cup.
It s not a choice to make him happy, but because I am convinced that he has all the qualities to do so, Deschamps said in a press conference.
I m not going to go into details. Y…
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea claims he is unaware of reported interest from Real Madrid, insisting he is very happy at Old Trafford.
De Gea was poised to return home to the Spanish capital last year until his proposed contract was reportedly eaten by a faulty fax machine on deadline day, with the Spain international going on to sign a four-year extension and help United to FA Cup glory.
Madrid have been linked with another bid for De Gea, despite Keylor Navas helping the club to Champions League glory in 2015-16, however, the 25-year-old has no plans to depart Manchester.
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Chelsea midfielder Jon Obi Mikel has turned down the chance to move to Fenerbache, .
The Nigeria international is currently playing in his tenth season with the Blues, having signed from Norwegian side Lyn in 2006.
Fenerbache were keen on signing the twenty-nine year old, and fellow Turkish side Galatasarary have also been linked though he has no desire to move on.
During his decade in England, Mikel has racked up over three hundred-seventy appearances in all competitions, scoring six goals and winning a host of trophies along the way.
He has two Premier League winners medals to his name and has also tasted success in the FA Cup on four occasions, the League Cup twice and in both the Champions League and Europa League.
Internationally, he ha…
Scottish goalkeeper Craig Gordon says a knee injury may force him to retire at the age of 30.
Gordon was signed by Sunderland for nine million pounds in 2007 at the time the highest fee ever paid by a British club for a goalkeeper but was released at the end of the 2011/12 campaign.
A 40-cap Scotland international, Gordan has been without a club since his departure from the Stadium of Light and, while he is not prepared to give up on making a return to playing just yet, Gordon has already begun planning for his future by taking up a coaching role with Dumbarton.
I m not ruling out playing again but as it goes on, increasingly it gets harder, Gordon told the Daily Record.
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Netherlands attacker Arjen Robben says his team s clash against Germany is make or break for their Euro 2012 campaign.
Having lost their opening Group B game to Denmark 1-0 on Saturday, the Dutch need a positive result from their second match or risk suffering elimination.
Robben, 28, is well aware of the seriousness of the game but is remaining optimistic about his side s chances against Joachim Loew s men.
Against Germany it is make or break, he told AD.nl.
But we are still confident. We will, can and should win. If that happens, everything will be good and we can rise again.
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Mauricio Pochettino’s side can move, if only temporarily up to third place with the win while victory would see Arsene Wenger’s men move to within a point of their rivals and two of the Champions League qualification places ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures.
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