Todd Mayenknecht: Bully for the brand that is Tom Brady

Opinion: Tom Brady’s legend only grew with Ring No. 7 in Super Bowl No. 10, literally Brady Bowl X.

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BULLS OF THE WEEK

There is no one in the business of sport whose stock rose more this week than TB12; the brand that is Tom Brady. That’s particularly remarkable given how high of a bar the guaranteed Pro Football Hall-of-Fame quarterback already had going into the week on the strength of nine previous Super Bowl appearances and six championship rings in his dresser. His legend only grew with Ring No. 7 in Super Bowl No. 10, literally Brady Bowl X.

We know that all records are meant to be broken but Brady’s 20-year career — highlighted by two Super Bowl wins after reaching age 40 — may just be the closest thing to untouchable in modern sport history.

Honourable mention goes to the NFL for delivering all 269 regular-season and playoff games it had scheduled for in the middle of COVID-19. Given a dominant performance by Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defence and the low ceiling placed on viewing parties and other gatherings because of pandemic health orders and restrictions, the NFL could also take solace in its TV ratings for the game. To achieve a total audience delivery of 96.3 million Americans and another 8.8 million Canadians on-average watching the game on CTV, TSN and RDS under those circumstances, is still a winning performance for the TV juggernaut that is the NFL.

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BEARS OF THE WEEK

It was an awful week for sports broadcasting in Canada. In fact, it might go down as the worst in the history of Canadian sports radio, which formally began in 1992 with the launch of what is now FAN 590 in Toronto. Black Tuesday not only eliminated TSN 1150 in Hamilton and TSN 1290 in Winnipeg, it killed TSN 1040 in Vancouver and broke the hearts of tens-of-thousands of regular listeners in all three markets.

It was particularly unfathomable in Vancouver — the country’s second-largest English language market — where the all-sports station had grown very strong roots after 19 years and nine months on the air.

The visceral response on social media reflected the strong connection many sports fans had built with the station and the hosts and guests who served as conduits to their favourite teams.

As a co-founder of what was launched as TEAM 1040 in May 2001 and became TSN 1040 in August 2014, the shutdown was certainly a significant shock to my system. With my own sport business radio show, The Sport Market, airing in 13 stations across the country and also connecting me to the hosts and producers in Hamilton and Winnipeg, I felt as if I had lost three families.

The hurt was especially palpable here in my home base of Vancouver, where I can’t help but wonder if other remedies could have been brought to bear short of a full and sudden shutdown? If the value of cross-promotion for TSN TV and Bell telecommunications in all three communities affected was sufficiently assessed? If Bell’s existing investments in football and soccer, for example, were adequately considered before slashing sports radio in three CFL and MLS markets?

Bottom line, if the forces that make sport a tribal business like no other weren’t understood going into the week, they certainly are now by Bell Media and everyone investing in and managing sport broadcasting in Canada.

The Sport Market rates and debates the Bulls and Bears of sport business in 12 radio markets across Canada. Join Tom Mayenknecht — a co-founder of what was TEAM 1040/TSN 1040 in Vancouver — for a behind-the-scenes look at the sport-business stories that matter most to fans. Follow Mayenknecht at: Twitter.com/TheSportMarket