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Posted September 8, 2006
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Vikings to Rock Local Ratings
When
Hank Williams Jr. sings his opening lyrics on Monday Night
Football he will ask, “Are you ready for some football?” The roar of
“amens” from Mahtomedi to Mound will shake the metro area. As Hank
warms up the audience, the Minnesota Vikings will be ready to play their
opening game of the season against the Washington Redskins on ESPN
before a national TV audience on the Monday night stage.
Our
kingdom loves the Vikings and media expert John
Rash predicts a huge local audience will tune in (even more viewers
than watch the Vikings on Sundays). Rash, senior vice president at the
Campbell Mithun marketing communications agency in Minneapolis, expects
the TV rating here to be 30 or 35. By contrast, the local viewing
audience for the Super Bowl is about 40, he said. (A rating point is a
percentage of households watching a particular program).
With
about 500,000 local households watching the game, the Vikings will add
to their reputation as the most popular team in town. Even for a
pre-season game the Vikings solidly beat the Twins in the local ratings.
The Vikings had a 12.8 rating for their August 25 game against
Baltimore while the Twins, fighting for a playoff spot, were playing the
World Champion White Sox in Chicago and drew an 8.9 rating, according to
the Star Tribune.
The
August 25 ratings caught Rash’s attention. “What’s surprising is that
it remains such a strong Vikings town considering the Twins on-field
performance and the Vikings off-field behavior,” he said.
The
Lake Minnetonka boat scandal and other off-field incidents may
discourage some casual followers of the Purple, but Rash said following
the Vikings is about more than just watching a game. “Pro football has
transcended a sporting event and become a social event, particularly in
Minnesota,” he explained. “People get together and visit during the
games, and the games become a back drop, not necessarily a compelling
event in itself.”
Interest in the Vikings exceeds the popularity of many other NFL teams
in their markets. One factor, Rash said, is so many people here (unlike
other markets with a higher percentage of residents who have relocated)
grew up in Minnesota and followed the team for years. He also said
another reason is the cool weather here during much of the NFL season
(unlike many markets where the weather may be the best of the year).
Monday night’s game will be the first regular season Monday telecast by ESPN, ending the 36-year tradition of games on ABC. Rash
said the Monday night series will produce the highest ratings for
continuous programming ever on ESPN, but the audience will be smaller
than ABC. He said ABC has 99% coverage throughout the country, while
ESPN has 85%.
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“Pro football has transcended a sporting
event and become a social event, particularly in Minnesota.”
John Rash, media expert
Monday night’s game will be the first regular season Monday game
telecast by ESPN, ending the 36 -year tradition of games on ABC.
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Alex
Daniels: Mr. Versatile
Although he is only 19, Alex Daniels has made
it clear during his high school and college football careers he’s
capable of playing multiple positions. At Brookhaven High School in
Columbus, Ohio he played linebacker, safety and running back. Last
season, playing linebacker for the Gophers, he was one of only three
true freshmen (non-red shirts) to earn a letter.
After the opening game
he was named co-Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his performance as a running
back in the Gophers’ 44-0 win over Kent State. Daniels had a game-high
155 yards on 24 carries (6.5 yards per rush) and scored three
touchdowns.
Not
bad for a guy moved to running back in early August when expectations
were that Daniels would become a star linebacker on a defense in need of
athleticism and big plays. Coach Glen Mason decided to try
Daniels at running back based on the need to add quality and depth to
that position.
There
was more to it than need, though, because Mason had been impressed with
Daniels’ athleticism and running in high school. “One of the things
that caught my eye was his ability to run in the games that I saw him,
plus I saw him in a track meet,” Mason said.
At
6-foot-3, 260-pounds, Daniels is much more of a power back than the
Gophers were accustomed to when they had speedsters Laurence Maroney
and Gary Russell, but Mason made it clear his newest tailback is
no slow-poke even with all that size and muscle. “He probably runs more
like a 6-1, 220 pound guy, and so if we do a good job up front and he
can get up a full head of steam, he can wear you out pretty quickly,”
Mason said.
As a
newcomer, Daniels has a lot to learn about the Gophers’ offense and the
running back position. “It started out as an experiment and I am not
saying it is still in the experimental stages but we still have a long
way to go… he is improving daily and had a good first game,” Mason
said.
Daniels was a prize catch in the Gophers’ 2005 recruiting class. At
Brookhaven he was ranked nationally as America’s No. 10 best safety, 11th
best athlete, 16th best safety and the 108th best
overall player. Now that he is a running back at Minnesota he can
target some more rankings.
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Glen Mason
Laurence
Maroney |
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Brad Childress Likes Nachos
Brad Childress listed nachos as his favorite food
on an NFL questionnaire. Here are several other responses by the
Vikings’ first year coach. Last book read: “Blink” by
Malcolm Gladwell. Best football nickname: Phoenix College
Artichokes. Favorite vacation spot: Bonita Springs, Florida.
What NFL team did you follow as a child? Chicago Bears.
Favorite sports uniform other than your own: Dallas Cowboys. Best advice ever received: Don’t lose confidence or it will
be unanimous! Toughest coach you’ve ever faced and why:
Bill Walsh at Stanford---he was way ahead of us Midwesterners,
throwing it back then. Greatest team you’ve ever competed
against: 1985 Chicago Bears. Most overrated aspect of football:
halftime adjustments and pre-game speeches. Most underrated aspect
of football: meticulous preparation and attention to detail; the
will to prepare to win.
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Brad Childress
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Extra Innings
If
the Vikings win Monday night’s game they will break Washington’s four
straight opening game win streak, longest in the NFL. The game will be
played at FedExField, capacity of over 90,000, and with a noise level
Viking coach Brad Childress compares to the Big Ten Conference
stadiums of Michigan and Ohio State.
Former Viking receiver Randy Moss, now with
Oakland, has caught 98 touchdown passes during his eight year career.
With two more touchdown receptions he becomes the seventh player in NFL
history to catch 100 or more touchdown passes. Jerry Rice is the
NFL career leader with 197 and former Viking Cris Carter is
second with 130.
The Twins are giving away 10,000
Jack Morris bobble heads tonight (Saturday) at
the Metrodome. Gates open at 4 p.m.
Long
time fan favorite Wayne Terwilliger is in town as a coach with
the Fort Worth team playing Saint Paul for the first American
Association championship. Before games this weekend at Midway Stadium
he will sign copies of his
book “Terwilliger Bunts One.” The autobiography, released in
late May, tells the story of Terwilliger’s amazing 56-year career in
professional baseball and is on sale in bookstores throughout the Twin
Cities and at Midway Stadium.
Coach
Kirk Ferentz talking about Rafael Eubanks, former Cretin-
Derham Hall star and now a redshirt freshman center starting his first
game in Iowa’s opener last Saturday against Montana: “The last two guys
we’ve christened (before Eubanks) was a bumpy road for both of them for
a couple games. If I was comparing the three, Rafael probably got off
to a little smoother start than both those guys.”
Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema talking about starting quarterback
John Stocco, former football and baseball star at Holy Angels:
“John’s biggest strengths are probably the things he possesses between
the ears. His mind and his ability to think on the football field are
very, very important to our success. . . .”
Dick Jonckowski, the public address announcer for Gopher basketball
for 21 years and baseball for 19, was the public address announcer last
month at the American Legion World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was
his ninth year in that role and he also emceed the banquet.
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Randy Moss
Wayne Terwilliger will sign copies of his
autobiography this weekend.
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