Game Report: Denver @ Kansas City

Game Date:  Thu Sep 17, 2015

Teams:  Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs

Network:  CBS

You’re reading what I hope will be one of many Game Reports in which I document my growth as a novice NFL TV fan.  You can check here if you’d like to learn more about my plans.
My local news report (WCCO) preceded the game and announcer Mark Rosen shared that the Chiefs were slightly favored for this game.  My interest was piqued.   The hometown fans in Kansas City are pretty entertaining to watch.  They pointed out that Peyton Manning was closing in on his 70K yards passing milestone and he did it during the game.  I felt very proud.  This was an extremely entertaining game, I must say.  With only two other games under my belt, it’s surprising to me how much I’ve learned already and how I’m feeling a growing fondness for my Broncos.  The biggest reason I chose to love Denver was that I thought Peyton Manning was cool and funny, and to see him play so very well is actually kind of thrilling.  He seemed to enjoy it, too.

TV Razzle Dazzle – it’s great television

Voice of God announcer set up the same — dramatic retelling of what happened in each team’s previous game — really and effective opening montage.   I like the shield-shaped logo they use to transition from play to replay.   The animated graphic of the offensive line comparing this year’s to last years — quite complicated and cool.  Stadium PA announcer was distracting — unusual to hear that in the background so loud.  Mic’d Up  — Jeremy Ware and others — kind of a gimmicky novelty to hear the player’s comments, but amusing.

Entertainment value

5/5.  Yeehaw.  I can’t believe I enjoyed a football game.  Structured like a work of drama:  the hero was in peril in the first act and rose above the antagonists.   Jamaal Charles TD — really impressive even though it put my Broncos behind.  And man — did they ever replay that one a lot.   Same with 2nd Chiefs TD — enjoyed watching Peters run it into the end zone and do that cute little kick-step.  Very cool when Sanders dove into the endzone on my Broncos’ first touchdown.  End of 2nd quarter — OMG.  Talib’s interception and two touchdowns in less than 2 minutes — I actually jumped out of my chair.  The whole rest of the game was a nail-biter with a spectacular finish.

Commercial commentary – remember who’s paying for all this

There were 118 separate commercials during the game.   This time I’ve noted which commercials had a football theme — it’s quite common but I didn’t really notice that pattern until my second game (Ravens@Broncos)  Commercials for upcoming CBS TV shows again led the pack (29), followed by auto/truck ads (16).  Lots of audio plugs for various TV shows and upcoming NFL events, but more graphics on bottom half of the screen while those are being made.   They’re not included in the commercial roster count of 118.   A nice bunch of Fantasy Football spots, and I was struck by how relentlessly male they are in their appeal (apparently they aren’t aware of the increasing number of women involved in fantasy football).  Speaking of male focus of commercials — it’s very plain to see what demographic is being targeted in most of the commercials.  That’s not a criticism, just an observation. For my next game report I think I’ll start logging which commercials seem to target someone other than young males.  During this show, the ones that stood out included AARP, Wendy’s, US Postal Service, and UPS.

Interesting Extras — lots to watch besides the game

In addition to being a highly entertaining game on the field, the broadcast was loaded with extra features.  “Planning for the Future”  feature about John Elway’s role in rebuilding the Broncos.  “Football Starts Here” – wonderful montage of video images against a young African American male.   Very short feature about a local high school coach who’s retiring – nice.   National WWI Museum in KC was plugged briefly.  Superbowl Memories:  Hank Stram (sp?), the widow was brought onto the field.  Man — I’d sure like to see more of the halftime activities.   Colquitt twins are both punters, one on each of these teams.  They even had home video of the Colquitts as small boys singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.  Elway/Kubiak feature near end of 3rd quarter.  A few other times the announcers did a little shoutout to some local Kansas City businesses and personalities.

So much for me to learn

Bootleg play.

Points to Ponder (or things that make me go “hmmmm …”)

Is any of the music we hear on TV what they’re also hearing in the stadium?  Why on some timeouts do they go to commercial while on others they cut to the announcers?  So many commercials for premieres of CBS TV shows — makes sense to drive up numbers for those premieres to “hook” the audience on them;  will the number of commercials for TV shows decrease after the premieres?   Does Thursday Night Football have a different musical theme from the other nights?   For that matter, are Sunday and Monday nights’ themes different from each other?

Here’s the commercial roster for the show.  I’ve sorted this one by category, but  you can also see which quarter the ads were telecast and in what order.  The asterisks (*) indicate commercials with a football theme of some sort.

Quarter Commercials:  Denver @ Kansas City, Sep 17 15 on CBS (*football themed ad) Category Ad Number
1 Audi A6 Auto 12
2 Bridgestone Tires* Auto 53
HT Dodge Ram Auto 60
4 Ford F-150 Auto 103
4 Ford F-150 Auto 113
3 GMC Denali Auto 77
1 GMC Sierra Auto 20
1 Hyundai “Because Football”* Auto 7
1 Hyundai Tucson Auto 2
2 Lexus IS Auto 28
2 Lexus IS Auto 36
HT Lexus IS Auto 70
2 Lexus RCF Coupe Auto 35
4 Mazda Auto 82
4 Mazda Auto 88
4 Toyota Rav 4 Auto 95
2 Bud Light Beer 24
4 Coor’s Light Beer 84
1 Corona Light Beer 6
3 Corona Light Beer 75
4 Corona Light Beer 109
2 Michelob Ultra Beer 40
1 Galaxy Samsung S6 Cellphone 13
1 iPhone 6s Cellphone 5
3 iPhone 6S Cellphone 73
2 iPhone/ATT* Cellphone 47
1 Sprint iPhone Cellphone 1
4 Sprint iPhone Cellphone 86
4 Verizon Cellphone 111
4 Verizon (McCown)* Cellphone 91
4 Galaxy Tab S2 Samsung Computer 117
1 Draft Kings Fantasy Football 19
2 Draft Kings Fantasy Football 23
HT Draft Kings Fantasy Football 68
4 Draft Kings Fantasy Football 85
4 Draft Kings Fantasy Football 96
4 Draft Kings Fantasy Football 112
1 FanDuel Fantasy Football 3
2 FanDuel Fantasy Football 38
4 FanDuel Fantasy Football 79
1 NFL.Com Fantasy Football Fantasy Football 11
2 American Express Financial 44
4 American Express Financial 107
2 Voya Financial 34
2 NCAA Upcoming Game Football 43
4 NFL Network:  Undrafted Football 110
4 NFL Now Football 98
4 NFL Ticket Exchange Football 102
HT Vikings Tickets Football 56
2 Dannon Oikos Yogurt* Groceries 41
2 Tostitos* Groceries 46
2 Benjamin Moore Paint Home Improvement 45
4 Benjamin Moore Paint Home Improvement 115
1 Lowe’s* Home Improvement 10
3 Lowe’s* Home Improvement 71
4 Lowe’s* Home Improvement 104
2 Courtyard by Marriott* Hotel 27
4 Geico Insurance 105
2 Nationwide (Manning)* Insurance 37
1 State Farm Insurance 14
1 Western National Insurance 18
4 UPS Mail/parcel delivery 108
4 US Postal Service Mail/parcel delivery 101
2 Black Mass Movie 33
3 Black Mass Movie 76
4 Everest Movie 90
1 Furious 7 Movie 9
3 Sicario Movie 72
2 The Martian Movie 50
HT Cabela’s Outdoor Gear 59
4 Head and Shoulders Shampoo* Personal Hygiene 116
2 Chick-Fil-A* Restaurants 55
3 Chick-Fil-A* Restaurants 78
4 KFC Restaurants 100
2 McDonald’s Restaurants 42
4 McDonald’s Restaurants 81
4 Outback Restaurants 89
2 Pizza Hut* Restaurants 25
2 Pizza Hut* Restaurants 32
2 Starbucks Restaurants 48
2 Subway Restaurants 52
1 Wendy’s Restaurants 8
2 Wendy’s Restaurants 29
4 Wendy’s Restaurants 106
4 Xfinity Satellite TV 94
2 AARP Senior Services 51
4 Adidas* Sports Apparel 99
1 Big Bang Theory Premiere TV Show 21
4 Big Bang Theory Premiere TV Show 93
4 Big Bang Theory Premiere TV Show 118
HT Bluebloods Premiere TV Show 69
2 Code Black TV Show 49
HT Code Black TV Show 64
HT CSI TV Show 66
4 CSI TV Show 92
1 Late Show TV Show 17
HT Late Show TV Show 62
4 Late Show TV Show 114
HT Life In Pieces Premiere TV Show 57
4 Life In Pieces Premiere TV Show 87
HT Limitless Premiere TV Show 58
4 Limitless Premiere TV Show 83
2 NCIS Premiere TV Show 54
3 NCIS Premiere TV Show 74
1 NCIS:  Los Angeles Premiere TV Show 4
1 NCIS:  New Orleans TV Show 16
2 NFL Network (Christian Oyoke) TV Show 26
HT NFL Network A Football Life (Christian Okoye) TV Show 65
4 Scorch Trials TV Show 80
2 Scorpion Premiere TV Show 31
HT Scorpion Premiere TV Show 63
1 Survivor Premiere TV Show 15
2 Survivor Premiere TV Show 39
HT WCCO News (Local) TV Show 61
HT WCCO News (Local) TV Show 67
4 WCCO News (Local) TV Show 97
2 Game Of War Video Game 22
2 Pandora Electronics 30