NFL ATTENDANCE CONTINUES ON RECORD PACE

NFL paid attendance in 1998 continues to be on pace to set an all-time record. Through eight weeks of the 17-week regular season, NFL fans have purchased 6,749,640 tickets to 106 games for an average of 63,676 per game. Paid attendance through the first eight weeks of the 1997 season (107 games) was 6,619,962 for an average of 61,869 per game. The all-time NFL regular-season paid attendance record of 62,682 per game was set in 1995.

ABC MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL TOPS AMONG MEN

The Jets finished on top, and so did ABC Monday Night Football. "Tuna Bowl III," the return to New England on October 19 of New York Jets head coach BILL "TUNA" PARCELLS to face his former team, was the week’s highest-rated TV show among men age 18-49, a coveted group for advertisers. The Jets won the game 24-14, and MNF won the age group with a 12.1 rating. The game topped World Series Game No. 4 (11.4), World Series Game No. 3 (10.8), Friends (8.3), and The Simpsons (8.3) on the list of the week’s top five shows in the 18-49 category.

PLAYOFFS ARE OVER…IN ALASKA

Late-October falling leaves prompt most NFL fans to think of the looming playoffs. But in one part of the U.S., late-October means Arctic air, frozen fields, icy snow – and the Alaskan state high school football championships, the earliest in the United States. Last Saturday (10/24), the finals were held at Anchorage Football Stadium, and thanks in large part to the Wilson family, the Service HS Cougars won their third state crown in five years, 48-20 over the Dimond HS Lynx. Service is coached by BYRON WILSON and quarterbacked by son JEFF, who runs a wing-T attack. And talk about a ground game! Service rushed 64 times for 375 yards while throwing only four times for 36 yards. "This never gets old," said Byron Wilson of the championship. "It’s a different flavor from year to year with different guys. No, this never gets old."  But it does get cold.

NFL WEB SITE GROWS IN POPULARITY

It’s a site to behold! And that’s exactly what NFL fans are doing in record numbers this year on the NFL’s web site, "NFL.com." The site has broken the 400,000-user mark on Sundays this season, with 413,801 clicking in last Sunday (10/25). As the playoff races tighten, NFL.com expects to soon break the 500,000-visitor mark on Sunday. Many fans are using it as a companion to the games they watch on TV. They can track – live – other games in progress, choose to follow the statistical performance of favorite players, and get complete statistical summaries at the conclusion of games. Mondays are the second most-visited NFL.com day, averaging nearly 400,000 users.