Many Americans were not honest when they stated on social media platforms this month that they planned to abstain from watching the Super Bowl. A new report released by the NFL showed a record number of people watched the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers on Super Bowl Sunday.

There was a “rigged” conspiracy around the Kansas City Chiefs

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrates with girlfriend Taylor Swift after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Numerous conservative voices claimed the league propped up the Chiefs during the postseason so Travis Kelce’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift, could endorse President Joe Biden for the 2024 election. Swift hasn’t publicly endorsed Biden for the 2024 election yet.

However, the alleged conspiracy supposedly turned away fans. I read numerous Tweets and comments on NewsBreak and other forums where people claimed they would not watch the “rigged” Super Bowl.

But maybe those accounts were just bots.

Over 200 million Americans watched the Super Bowl

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) runs the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth quarter in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
According to a press release from the NFL, Nielsen partnered with the league to survey how many people watched the Chiefs play the 49ers. Per the release, nearly two in three Americans watched the game:
“According to the custom survey, Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 reached approximately 210 million viewers – nearly 2/3 of Americans – across CBS Television Network, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Univision, and CBS Sports, Univision and NFL digital properties, including NFL+.

This is a 4% increase compared with the 202 million unique viewers reported in Nielsen’s syndicated ratings service, which measures viewers that watched at least one minute of the game. The survey also revealed that the average minute audience was approximately 143 million viewers.”
Are these numbers fabricated as a part of a psychological operation to beat down resistance to the league?

You’ll watch the Super Bowl in 2025 too

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on the sideline in Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Fans claimed they’d boycott the Chiefs Wild Card round matchup against the Miami Dolphins because the game was being shown on Peacock. While ratings were lower than they would have been on NBC, they certainly had high ratings on the over-the-top streaming service.

The NFL is putting on the best show people can watch in the fall and winter months. While people want to complain about the direction football is going, the stats show people will watch regardless.

It doesn’t matter if people flood social media platforms to cry they won’t watch games. The league knows you’ll watch anyway.

Until you don’t, they have no reason to improve the product. But then again, what’s the alternative?