Here’s a Look at How Taylor Swift Affected Super Bowl Viewership

Also in Traina Thoughts: one of the worst sports quotes ever; Travis Kelce on Andy Reid blowup; Tom Brady gets honest about Bill Belichick and more.

1. As we said in Tuesday’s Traina Thoughts, this year’s Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Niners drew 123.4 million viewers.

Last year’s Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Eagles drew 115.1 million viewers.

While an overtime game was obviously a huge reason for the ratings increase, there was also the Taylor Swift factor.

With so many non-football fans watching the Super Bowl, it was expected that the Swift Effect would be strong for the game. Sports Media Watch has an excellent and detailed breakdown of just how strong Swift impacted viewership for the big game.

Among the highlights from Sports Media Watch’s report:

• In women ages 18 to 24, this year’s Super Bowl viewership was up 24% from last year.

• In girls ages 12 to 17, this year’s Super Bowl viewership was up 11% from last year.

• Women and men ages 18 to 24 and girls ages 12 to 17 combined accounted for nearly two million more viewers for this year’s Super Bowl vs. last year’s.

Hopefully, Roger Goodell was thanking Swift when they had a conversation before Sunday’s game.

2. I don’t want to be a prisoner of the moment, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a dumber quote in sports history than Niners safety Tashaun Gipson saying Patrick Mahomes is “just a regular quarterback.”

3. Travis Kelce addressed his sideline blowup at Andy Reid on his New Heights podcast while Jason Kelce pulled no punches in scolding Travis.

4. Apple+ will premiere its 10-part documentary on the Patriots this Friday. Based on this quote from Tom Brady, this may be the rare sports documentary these days where we actually learn something new.

Tom Brady on remaining with the #Patriots:

“Me and Coach Belichick, we did what we loved… for 20 years together, but I wasn’t going to sign another contract… Based on how things had gone, I wasn’t going to sign up for more of it.” 😳

(via @ChadGraff)pic.twitter.com/YOzLCI0P04

— Carlos Talks Pats (@LosTalksPats) February 14, 2024

5. We told you yesterday that Pat McAfee called out Bill Simmons on his Tuesday show. It appears that Simmons went for a more low-key comeback on his latest podcast.

I’m still not sure what started this, and who knows whether it will continue, but this is quite the heavyweight battle when it comes to the sports media world.

6. Here are the most recent SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcasts that you should catch up on in case you missed any of them.

• Jim Nantz

• Bryan Curtis

• Kyle Brandt

• Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated’s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Larry David had a great appearance on Conan O’Brien’s podcast this week.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.