The Buffalo Bills season ended heartbreakingly in the AFC title to the Kansas City Chiefs 32-29.
It’s now the fourth time in the last five postseasons that the Bills failed to beat the Chiefs.
Buffalo can’t get past Patrick Mahomes; the entire country witnessed it again on Sunday.
When I mean the entire country, I really mean it; according to the Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp, the matchup averaged 57.4 million viewers on CBS.
This was the highest viewership for a conference title game since the 2012 matchup between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers when 57.6 million people tuned in.
Last year, 55.5 million viewers tuned in for the AFC championship between the Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens.
Kansas City Brings in Many Viewers
Kansas City draws many viewers, playing in two of the three highest-viewed conference championships in league history.
The Chiefs are in the middle of a dynasty looking to win their third Super Bowl in a row, something an NFL team has never done.
Mahomes is also looking for his fourth Super Bowl ring, which would tie him with 49ers legend Joe Montana. Montana is considered the second-best quarterback ever, behind Tom Brady.
If Mahomes wins his fourth ring this season, he will have done it before the age of 30, something Brady, who has seven Super Bowl trophies, didn’t even do.
Even though many fans don’t like Kansas City, a handful of people still want to witness history, which is what the Chiefs are trying to do.
Another factor that affects many viewers is Taylor Swift. Since Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce started dating the pop singer, people not interested in the game began tuning in.
Swift has the most enormous fanbase among all celebrities, and many of her fans like to follow in her footsteps.
If Taylor is at the game, many of her fans will tune in to see if they can see her on television.
Also, many people can’t stand Kansas City and want to see them lose, so they hate to watch them and root for whoever they play against.
People Love The Bills Story
Buffalo was the best team to root for who didn’t want to see the Chiefs return to another Super Bowl.
The Bills have never won the Super Bowl after going to four straight in the early 90s.
A majority of NFL fans only know Buffalo has the loveable losers like the Chicago Cubs were before they won a World Series in 2016, breaking their 108-year World Series curse.
Buffalo has been so close to reaching the big game the last five years but has always come up short, and America wants to see them pull it off.
The Dallas Cowboys are the biggest brand in the NFL, and you either root for or against them.
Most NFL fans have strong opinions either way on the Cowboys, and many of them can’t stand the team from the Lone Star state.
Buffalo seems to be the exact opposite. It feels like the Bills are starting to become a major brand; every fan wants to see them succeed.
This could be because the Bills have been the Chiefs’ victims in the playoffs for many years, or it could be because people want to see them win no matter what because of their history.
Buffalo is a great sports city with some of the best fans in the NFL, and they deserve to win it all one day.
The NFL is rooting for them, and when 57.4 million viewers tune into your playoff game, you have many people pulling for you.
Comments
Bills vs. Chiefs Draws Highest TV Ratings for Any Conference Championship On CBS