Super Bowl XLIV broadcast tops 1983 'M*A*S*H' finale for all-time TV ratings crown

By Dave Walker, The Times-Picayune
February 08, 2010, 3:05PM

More households were tuned to CBS’s broadcast of Super Bowl XLIV than any scheduled program in U.S. TV history.

Sunday’s New Orleans Saints defeat of the Indianapolis Colts was viewed in 51.7 million households, topping the previous record holder, the 1983 finale of the CBS sitcom “M*A*S*H,” which drew 50.2 million homes, the Nielsen Co. announced Monday.

Sunday’s total average audience of 106.5 million viewers easily eclipsed last year’s record Super Bowl audience -- the 98.7 million viewers who tuned to NBC’s broadcast of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defeat of the Arizona Cardinals.

Nielsen didn’t compile total-viewer data in 1983, said Aaron Lewis, communications director for the ratings-gathering service, and so isn’t releasing comparative figures in that measurement for this Super Bowl.

Reference sources list various audience totals for the “M*A*S*H” finale. One of them is 106 million viewers, which Lewis said “may be accurate” and which would put the Saints-Colts Super Bowl atop that column as well.

Ratings analysts had predicted a record audience total for the game based on the established popularity of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, the growing popularity of the Saints, the down national economy (encouraging thrifty stay-home viewing instead of watching the game in public places like bars and restaurants, which is not measured by Nielsen) and heavy weekend snowfall in some Eastern cities (also discouraging public viewing).

Public viewing and Super Bowl parties might’ve cost CBS affiliate WWL-Channel 4 a local-ratings record for the Saints’ Super Bowl triumph.

In New Orleans, the overnight ratings for WWL-TV’s Super Bowl broadcast fell short of the all-time mark set by WVUE-Channel 8 with the NFC Championship Game, which had a 63.2 local rating/82 share – the largest local rating in NFL post-season history, according to Fox.

Sunday’s game had a still-huge 56.3 rating, 82 share here. Each rating point represents 1 percent of total TV households, or about 6,340 homes. Share is the percentage of viewership in homes with a set in use.

“Does this mean less people actually watched the Super Bowl than the NFC Championship Game?” said Joann Habisreitinger, media director for Zehnder Communications in New Orleans. “I’d bet my life that’s not the case.

“The reason for the ratings difference is due to two key factors. One, a bunch of Who Dats in Miami not contributing to local viewership, and two, Super Bowl parties where large groups of people gathered in other people’s homes or outside of their home (such as in bars) where their viewership was not measured and therefore did not contribute to the Nielsen rating.

“Based on the share being dead even, I think it’s safe to assume the same number of people (if not more) viewed the Super Bowl.”


New Orleans led all local markets in overnight ratings for the Super Bowl, followed by snowbound Washington, D.C. (56.0 rating/73 share), Nashville (54.4/73), Indianapolis (54.2/80) and Columbus, Ohio (54.0/74).

Geaux Saints!!!!

One final Super Bowl post before the game.

U2 (featuring Green Day) – The Saints Are Coming

A letter to Miami from the "Who Dat Nation"

Yes, even I am caught up in all the hoopla.

A friend of mine sent me this today. It was written by Mark Lorando in the February 1, 2010 Times-Picayune.

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A letter to Miami from the "Who Dat Nation"

Dear Miami,

The Saints are coming. And so are we, their loyal, long-suffering and slightly discombobulated Super Bowl-bound fans.

While there's still time to prepare -- although a few hard-core Who Dats will begin trickling in Monday, most of us won't arrive until Thursday or Friday -- we thought we'd give you a heads-up about what you should expect.

First things first: You need more beer.

Yeah, we know. You ordered extra. You think you have more than any group of humans could possibly consume in one week. Trust us. You don't.

New Orleans was a drinking town long before the Saints drove us to drink. But it turns out beer tastes better when you're winning. (Who knew?) So let's just say we're thirsty for more than a championship; adjust your stockpiles accordingly.

And look. When we ask you for a go-cup, be nice to us. We don't even know what "open container law" means. Is that anything like "last call"?

It's Carnival season in New Orleans (that's Mardi Gras to you), and we'll be taking the celebration on the road. So don't be startled if you walk past us and we throw stuff at you; that's just our way of saying hello.

Oh, and sorry in advance about those beads we leave dangling from your palm trees. We just can't help ourselves.

February is also crawfish season, and you can be sure that more than one enterprising tailgater will figure out a way to transport a couple sacks of live mudbugs and a boiling pot to Miami.

When the dude in the “Who Dat” T-shirt asks if you want to suck da head and pinch da tail, resist the urge to punch him. He's not propositioning you. He's inviting you to dinner.

And if you see a big Cajun guy who looks exactly like an old Saints quarterback walking around town in a dress ... don't ask. It's a long story.

We know that crowd control is a major concern for any Super Bowl host city. Our advice? Put away the riot gear.

Reason No. 1: Indianapolis is going to lose, and their fans are way too dull to start a riot.

Reason No. 2: New Orleans showed the world on Sunday that we know how to throw a victory party. We don't burn cars. We dance on them.

Reason No. 3: Even if we did lose, which we won't, leaving the stadium would be like leaving a funeral, and our typical response to that is to have a parade.

Speaking of which: If you happen to see a brass band roll by, followed by a line of folks waving their handkerchiefs, you're not supposed to just stand there and watch. As our own Irma Thomas would say, get your backfield in motion.

And hey, Mister DJ! Yes, we know you've already played that stupid Ying Yang Twins song 10 times tonight, but indulge us just one more time.

To us, "Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)" isn't just a song; it's 576 points of good memories. It's the sound of a Drew Brees touchdown pass to Devery Henderson, a Pierre Thomas dive for first down on 4th-and-1, a Garrett Hartley field goal sailing through the uprights in overtime.

It's what a championship sounds like. You may get sick of hearing it. We won't. Encore, dammit.

Inside Sun Life Stadium, you may find your ears ringing more than usual. We're louder than other fans. Seven thousand of ours sound like 70,000 of theirs.

Don't believe us? Ask the 12th man in the Vikings huddle.

Some people think it's just the Dome that heightens our volume. But you're about to discover a little secret: We can scream loud enough to make your head explode, indoors or out.

It's not the roof. It's the heart.

Well, OK, and the beer.

Don't be surprised if there are more Saints fans outside the stadium than inside. A lot of us are coming just to say we were part of history, even if we can't witness it up close. The Saints are family to us, and you know how it is with family: We want to be there for them, whether they really need us or not. Because we know our presence will mean something to them, whether they can see us or not.

Come to think of it, seeing as how you're taking us in for the week, we pretty much regard you as family, too. So we're warning you now: If you're within hugging distance, you're fair game.

Hugging strangers is a proud Who Dat tradition, right up there with crying when we win.

Most sports fans cry when their teams lose. Not us. We've been losing gracefully and with good humor for 43 years. Tragedy and disappointment don't faze us. It’s success that makes us go to pieces.

Hurricane Katrina? We got that under control. The Saints in the Super Bowl? SOMEBODY CALL A PARAMEDIC!!!

So anyway, don't let the tears of joy freak you out. We're just ... disoriented.

OK. Let's review:

Order more beer. Throw me something, mister. Suck da heads. Wear da dress. Stand up. Get crunk. Hug it out. Protect your eardrums. Pass the Kleenex. Hoist the trophy.

See you at the victory party.

Faithfully yours,

The Who Dat Nation

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It was written by Mark Lorando in the February 1, 2010 Times-Picayune.

Song History: More Than A Feeling

Original post January 25, 2010
Updates and re-post June 15, 2011

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My ongoing Song History Project entails that I pick a song that I love that has been covered many times and research its history.

My goal: Find every version ever recorded – plus any song, according to the original artist, that had influenced the song’s composing.

First up is More Than A Feeling by Boston.







According to rollingstone.com, the song was “released as the lead single from their eponymous debut album on Epic Records in September 1976, with ‘Smokin’ on the flipside. The single peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The track...is ranked as #500 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and in 2009 it was named the 39th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.”

From Dave Marsh's The Book of Rock Lists: “The chorus riff may itself be a subtle homage to the Kingsmen's classic, ‘Louie Louie’. The descending verse riff is also similar to the hook from ‘Badge’ by Cream. The song's instrumental guitar bridge is heavily inspired by the instrumental hooks of the Tornados' 1962 instrumental hit ‘Telstar.’"

Tom Scholz, who composed the song, credits "Walk Away Renee" by The Left Banke as the main inspiration for the song.

Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke...




Here is a list of cover versions I have found.
(If you know of any other ones, let me know!)

South African Thrash Metal band Agro: 2004 CD Gouda Than Hell
Info Link

Swedish Hair Metal band Bad Habit: 1989 CD From After Hours (and on their greatest hits CD 13 Years of Bad Habits)




Ingram Hill: 2005 Herbie Fully Loaded soundtrack



This version is closest to the original. That is not necessarily a good thing. Ingram Hill also did a cover version of Queen's song '39. I don't see a video for Ingram Hill's version, but here is Queen's original version, probably one of my Top Ten Favorite Queen Songs.




Japanese female pop singers Nav Katze: 1994 album Uwa No Sora

Info Link
The band seems to cover other classic rock songs (like Wild Horses) so I was hoping they would sound like Shonen Knife covering Top of the World. Instead they sound like electronic noise.


NSYNC: 1998 debut CD




Sleater-Kinney: 1996 CD Move into the Villa Villakula and The Virgin Suicides soundtrack




UK Soft Rock Artist Sylvain Cossette: 2008 CD 70’s





The Big Mess Orchestra
Web Site


The Stafford Brothers - A couple of DJ’s remixing the song




University of North Carolina Chapel Hill acappella group Achordants – 2007 CD High-Stakes Old Maid
Info Link

There is no video of their version of the song, though their web site has videos of them covering Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas), September (Earth, Wind and Fire), Long Train Running (The Doobie Brothers) and other songs.



Here is a list of songs that sample “More Than A Feeling”.

- DJ Peter Presta: "Totally Hooked" (See this blog entry to hear the song.)

- Hunters & Collectors



While not an actual cover, the main riff for the song is the same as More than a Feeling's chorus riff, except in a different key.


Songs That Inspired “More Than A Feeling”

The Kingsmen's Louie Louie



Cream's Badge



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Of all the songs listed, I have a copy of ALL of them except for Agro, Nav Katze, The Big Mess Orchestra, and Achordants.

I posted about Brad Delp’s death here.

Final Thought:


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Another time: A song originally recorded in 1933 and covered by artists such as Shocking Blue, John Mellencamp, Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan...

Saints Heading To First-Ever Super Bowl

NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints are headed to the Super Bowl for the first time ever, after beating the Minnesota Vikings in overtime to win the NFC Championship before a wild crowd in the Superdome.

A field goal by Garrett Hartley in overtime put the Saints on top, 31-28.

That's some crazy shit!

Goals for the New Year

I usually don't make any goals for the new year, but I did write some down this year. I'll look back at this post in January 2011.

Besides the usual goals like "get out of debt" and "lose 20 pounds", I have these:

1) Do something cultural at least once a month. Some upcoming events:
The Beatles LOVE by Cirque Du Soleil - In Las Vegas
NPR's Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me Live
David Sedaris Live

2) Take a cooking class at Delgado Community College (as I did about 10 years ago).

3) Volunteer at WRBH - Radio for the Blind and Print Handicapped. This one has actually been on my To Do list for a couple of years.

4) Reconnect with old high school and college friends - Scott, Todd, Wild Bill, Drifter, Sean, Kevin, etc. Facebook makes that easier and easier.

Monthly Family Dinner - February 2009

The first Monday of each month, our family gets together. We rotate hosting duties so Carlos and I host every third month. We are hosting in February – right in Mardi Gras season. Here is the menu we are planning.


Salad (Marshall) - Mardi Gras Salad

Toss together -
6 cups sliced/chopped purple cabbage
2 cups sliced shallots (green onions)
4 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
½ cup toasted sliced almonds
1 packet Ramen noodles

Dressing -
6 tbsp. vinegar
4 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. pepper, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 Ramen chicken flavor packet

Mix dressing together until sugar dissolves. Pour over salad, and mix.



Soup (Carlos) - Soupe a l'ail aux pommes de terre

Ingredients –
1 head of garlic
2 quarts water
2 tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
2 cloves
1/4 tsp. sage
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 bay leaf
4 parsley sprigs
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
3 cups diced potatoes
Pinch of Saffron
French bread
Parmesan cheese

Directions –
Separate a head of garlic so that you have about 16 cloves. Drop them into boiling water for 30 seconds, rinse with cold water, and peel.

Drop them into your soup pot, along with all the ingredients listed above up to but not including the potatoes.

Boil slowly for 30 minutes. Strain it, and return to the saucepan. Add about 3 cups of diced "boiling potatoes" (I used Yukon Gold) and a good pinch of saffron to the broth and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Serve with French bread and grated Parmesan cheese.


Main Dish (Marshall) - Aurora’s Chicken Pepperoni
Yes, from this movie

Ingredients -
4 (6-ounce) skinless boneless chicken breasts
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 (16-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 ounces pepperoni, sliced in thin rounds (8 slices)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions –
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Pound the chicken breast halves between 2 sheets of plastic wrap to about 1/2-inch thickness. In a shallow skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs with the oregano and garlic powder. Season the mixture with salt and freshly ground pepper. Coat the chicken breasts with the bread crumbs.

Saute in the olive oil until browned, about 4 minutes each side. Remove the chicken cutlets to a baking dish. Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the tomato, sugar, oregano, basil, and garlic powder. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the baking pan. Place the slices of pepperoni on top of each cutlet. Sprinkle the tops with cheese.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. or until the cheese melts and just begins to brown. Serves 8.


Dessert (Marshall & Carlos, actually store bought) – King Cake

Greatest Cover Songs of All Times

Back in my college radio DJ days, one of my shows fell on a Tuesday. (I usually had two or three shows per week - some solo, some with an on-air partner.) All of us Tuesday DJ’s got together at the beginning of every semester and decided to have our respective radio shows (each three hours long, each with a different type of music) every Tuesday a “Two for Tuesday” show.

Our radio station had an unspoken rule: Once a song was played on your radio show, you could NEVER play it again. Because of this, by the end of the semester, I was coming up with very creative ways to present my “Two for Tuesday” shows.

The very last show of the semester became “Reverse Two for Tuesday” shows – meaning that instead of two songs by the same artist, I would play the same song by two different artists. This out-of-necessity creation became a hit, and was anticipated by my audience every semester until I finished the semester’s shows with another edition.

I was thinking of that today because I was listening to Killer Queen: A Tribute To Queen, that Carlos got me for Christmas. It has some great cover songs on it, and thought I’d start making a list of the Greatest Cover Songs of All Time.

Here is what I have come up with so far – in random order.

We Are The Champions (originally Queen) – Gavin DeGraw
Though listening to the song, I thought it was Jonny Lang singing



Totally Hooked (Boston’s More Than A Feeling reworked and remixed) – DJ Peter Presta



Billy Jean (originally Michael Jackson) – Cobra Starship



Rehab (originally Amy Winehouse) – Paolo Nutini



Smooth Criminal (originally Michael Jackson) – Alien Ant Farm



Baker Street (originally Gerry Rafferty) – Foo Fighters



We Can Work It Out (originally The Beatles) – Tesla
Going back to the 1980's, I have always been a closet Tesla fan.



Hey Jude (originally, well, you know) – Wilson Pickett
This is my favorite Beatles cover - even considering Aretha Franklin's "Let It Be" and Stevie Wonder's "We Can Work It Out".



Babe I’m Gonna Leave You (originally Anne Briggs, then Joan Baez) – Led Zeppelin
This may be my all-time favorite Zeppelin song.



Blinded By The Light (originally Bruce Springsteen) – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band



Hazy Shade of Winter (originally Simon & Garfunkel) – The Bangles



I Heard It Through The Grapevine (originally Gladys Night & The Pips) – Creedence Clearwater Revival or Marvin Gaye
Both are great versions. The video is of Marvin Gaye’s version.



Stand by Me (originally Ben E. King) – John Lennon



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Interested in remakes / cover versions? Here is the best web site about the subject that I have found.

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This post looked at newer cover songs. Especially early in their careers, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Cream and other bands rerecorded old blues songs. There are tons more remakes for me to explore.

That’ll be in a future post.

40th +1 Surprise Party

Last night, Carlos and I joined our other family members for my cousin Paul’s 40th + 1 Surprise Birthday Party, planned by his wife Sarah.

Since there was a Saints game, Paul was supposed to watch the Saints game at an undetermined place and then go to my cousin’s (his sister’s) house at 7:30 pm. The plan fell through when Paul called Suzanne’s husband Steve, asking Steve if he could come over to watch the game – at 2 pm. When people started showing up for the Surprise Party portion of the evening, Paul finally figured it out.

Though it wasn’t a surprise at all, we had fun. My family is quite loud and boisterous. Add in that Sarah was fixing very strong Hurricanes.


Some choice conversation quotes:

My mom introducing Nick (half Filipino) to Carlos (originally from Honduras): “Nick, have you met Carlos? Y’all have the same coloring.”

My sister Christine lamenting that part of her Mardi Gras will be hard to schedule this year: “Karlie [her girlfriend] is having her uterus taken out. I guess she couldn’t wait until after Ash Wednesday.”

My cousin Andree, after hearing the above: “Hey. I had polyps on my uterus too. Cool. Let’s talk about it.”

My mom with my aunt Mary and my uncle Greg listening: “Carlos sure is getting a lot of attention from Angie [a 40-something mom of one of the young kids].”
Me: “Yea, but he’s told me that he wouldn’t know what to do with that. He said that there are too many flaps and folds down there.”
My mom with my aunt Mary and my uncle Greg listening: “Oh my Gawd, Marshall.”


My aunt Barbara at the end of the evening: “We really like Carlos. Almost as much as we like you.”
Me: “I can tell. He was surrounded by people all night. I think y’all like him more than me.”
Barbara: “Well, we do, but didn’t want to tell you that.”

Carlos, as we were driving home after I related that story to him: “It’s just that I’m the shiny new toy. It’ll blow over.”

Tourist In Your Own Town – 2009

Carlos and I planned our third annual Tourist in Your Own Town weekend for a recent December 2009 weekend. It turns out that it was one of the worst weekends weather-wise and health-wise, but sometimes that is what makes for the best memories.


We arrived Friday afternoon to my parent’s Bed and Breakfast (left photo) to 40 degree weather. After unpacking, we had a late lunch at Port of Call. Then we walked around the French Quarter, to the Aquarium, the Riverwalk, stopped in a few hotels to see the decorations, finally ending up at The Mint for an exhibit on money and technology of the 1800’s. On the way home, we stopped at a small supermarket in the Quarter to pick up some sausage and bell peppers to add to the Jambalaya mix that I had brought from home. We cooked a big pot of Jambalaya and settled down on the couch the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning, we woke up to more cold and the threat of rain. We didn’t care; we had a 10 am cooking class at the New Orleans School of Cooking. There were 67 people in the class so we didn’t actually cook, though we did eat the food. (I guess a better description would be a cooking demonstration.) I highly recommend the class – for tourists or natives of New Orleans. Make sure you get Chef Michael as your instructor. He cooked four items: Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo, Jambalaya, Bread Pudding, and Pralines. As he created each dish, he wove the history of New Orleans into his preparation. For example, as he added okra to the Gumbo, he discussed that it is believed that okra first reached the New World during the days of slave trafficking. Then he discussed slavery in New Orleans.

After the class, Carlos and I walked through the rain down Frenchmen Street to Mona’s for some takeout food. We had planned to go out when the rain subsided, but the rain only got worse. Plus we both had terrible chest colds. We bundled up on the couch, turned on the TV, ate our food and napped all afternoon and evening. It was nice to just cuddle up under the covers. Carlos did, however, have to go out in the pouring rain at one point to move his car. The water was creeping up his tires and he was afraid that the water would get into his car.

Sunday, we got up early and ate breakfast at La Peniche, a couple of blocks from my parent's B&B. Then headed home.
This year’s Tourist in Your Hometown weekend had definitely the least amount of adventure, but it was still quite memorable.

Here’s a link to past year’s weekends:

2007

2008