The Ratings Gods got their way for the Super Bowl LII matchup.
And I think it'll be a Top 5 all-time Super Bowl rating.
It'll be Philadelphia - the 4th largest television market... versus New England - the 7th largest television market (Boston)... on Sunday, February 4.
But had it been Minnesota - the 15th largest market (Minneapolis, St. Paul)... versus Jacksonville - the 47th largest market...
The ratings would have been "a total disaster" -- said in a President Trump accent.
I mention Trump because I could easily envision him taking credit over poor Super Bowl ratings if it were to have been the Jags and Vikings.
He's railed on the league all year... criticizing players who take a knee for the National Anthem.
And he's blasted the NFL for its "ratings" being down.
NFL ratings were in fact down 9.7% in 2017, according to Nielsen.
In other words, 1.6 million fewer people watched a game this year, compared to the year before (14.9 million vs. 16.5 million).
But I don't think Trump will get that chance to blast this year's Super Bowl since it's his star-studded friends Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and Patriots versus the Eagles in Super Bowl LII...
I think the ratings will be -- to steal another Trumpian term -- tremendous.
Sure, the small contingent of Jaguars and Vikings fans are left devastated, but a great deal of people across the country are already fired up about this matchup.
Consider, the AFC Championship game between the Patriots and Jaguars was the most watched television program in the country since last year's Super Bowl.
It drew a 50.1 rating in Boston, meaning 75 percent of households there were tuned into the game.
And while the NFC Championship ratings were down nationwide by 2.9% from the season prior (27.6 to 24.7), the Eagles still have a cult-like following... even with a backup quarterback.
For football fans in general, you never know how much Tom Brady has left in the tank (seems like a lot, but he's 40-years-old and you just never know when he's going to hang it up)...
So you wouldn't want to miss a potential GOAT finale (again, you never know for sure when he's going to call it a career!).
Meanwhile, fans will also be interested in seeing whether backup Nick Foles can continue his magical play... and take down Brady in an upset win.
Now, I don't think this matchup has the potential to be the highest-rated ever -- there's just not enough of a compelling storyline -- but I'd guess this matchup still scores a Top 5 rating all-time.
The Patriots alone draw big audiences.
Consider, the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks had a 47.5 rating in 2015. That was the most-watched Super Bowl since 1987, and fourth-highest rated all-time.
But ratings have been dipped slightly for two consecutive years since.
The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos had a 46.6 rating in 2016.
And the Patriots and Atlanta Falcons had a 45.3 rating last year.
In no way are those poor ratings.
In fact, no Super Bowl between 1997 and 2009 scored a rating higher than 44.5.
Yet last year's game was higher than that figure.
Trajectory would suggest that ratings could be down yet again -- especially considering the nearly 10% overall decline this season...
But I think this game will buck the trend.
I'm predicting a spike in ratings back in the 47s.
We'll see whether that's the case on February 4.
David Baumann is a Sports Columnist for 407area.com and 305area.com and can be heard Tuesdays, 7-9pm on EK Sports, 96.9 The Game FM Orlando (or anywhere on iHeartRadio).
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