When the numbers were examined in more detail, it turned out that, as expected, viewers had drifted away steadily throughout the second half – that is, until a sudden, dramatic spike in the audience figures two minutes from the end. The game, inevitably, was the top-rated programme of the week but so many people were still there at the end that the post-game show, a mixture of interviews, analysis and prize-giving, was No 2. What was remarkable, though, was the number who were still watching the 49ers’ 49-26 win four hours later, when the outcome had been a foregone conclusion almost from the kick-off. It was not the headline figure of 83.4m viewers which was impressive because Americans always switch on to the Super Bowl in their tens of millions. The only thing that took anyone by surprise was the TV ratings. From the moment the 49ers scored what was, at the time, the fastest opening touchdown in Super Bowl history, it felt like the longest WWF bout in history, only without the round where they pretend the bad guy is winning. Super Bowl XXIX in January 1995 between the San Francisco 49ers and the San Diego Chargers looked like a lopsided mismatch beforehand and the reality was even worse.
