Pre-gamin'

 Somewhere the U.S. Open tennis tournament is going on, and somewhere else they're gearing up for the last IndyCar race of a season whose narrative is already concluded (Congrats, King Alex of Palou!). And somewhere else, baseball games are happening, and WNBA games/professional wrestling matches, and in Columbus, Ohio, Texas is about to play Ohio State in a Great Big Huge College Football Game.

But you know what has folks really excited?

Preseason NFL games.

What, you think I'm lying?

Well, I'm not. Thanks to Drew Lerner of Awful Announcing, I have the official NFL Media stats, and what they say is more TV eyeballs were on NFL preseason games than any year since 2018. An average of 2.2 million viewers tuned in to preseason tilts on the NFL Network and assorted broadcast partners. That's a 17 percent jump over last year's viewership.

What that tells me is Roger Goodell's magic kingdom is still the Colossus that bestrides Sportsball World. 

What it also tells me is some people have no lives, but that's not exactly revealed wisdom. If people had lives, there would be no fantasy football.

But of course there is, and it's a cottage industry for ESPN and others, so there you go. Every fall Jack Spratt from North Platte is convinced his team, "Is That A Pledge Pin On Your Uniform?", is going to finally win the league because only he was astute enough to foresee a breakout season for Drew Lock. 

And so Jack, and 2.1 million others, tuned in the preseason games to see if that fourth-round pick from Western Eastern Tech was good enough to make the 53-man roster. Or if Caleb Williams' great half against next Monday's Ravens cuts means the Bears will finally have an elite QB for the first time since Sid Luckman was tromping around out there.

"Wow," you're saying now. "Is that sad or what, Mr. Blob?"

Of course it's sad. Two point one million people watching a bunch of guys they've never heard of and probably never will means they'd probably watch a test pattern for three hours if it featured the NFL logo. It's also a trifle awe-inspiring, because if the NFL can sell something as worthless as preseason games, what can't it sell?

"Huge-ass linemen running timed 40s for no particular reason?" you're saying.

Already happening. It's called the combine, and people actually watch that, too.

"Training camp calisthenics?" you're saying.

Again, already happening. Some teams even charge admission to training camp sessions. And people actually pay.

"Gee, Mr. Blob," you're saying now. "There really isn't anything the NFL can't sell."

True. But look on the bright side.

The league hasn't figured out how to market a player game-day wardrobe show yet. Although that's probably coming.

"Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to this edition of  'Ruffle-ing The Passer,' with your host, Cam Newton. Today we're in Philadelphia for Eagles-Cowboys, and the anticipation is already building for an epic style matchup between Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott. Will Pres break out the diamond-encrusted Stetson again? Will Jalen counter with his now-famous Salute To Cheesesteak tux? Stay tuned ..."

And 2.1 million viewers will.