Super Bowl XLVII: 3 things to watch

1. The biggest audience ever

It is no secret that Sunday night, between 6:30 and 10 p.m., a larger group of people will collect to watch the Super Bowl than any other television event for the rest of the year.

Forbes magazine estimates that a record 111.3 million people will tune into the game.

With a 30-second spot going for around $4 million dollars, there is an incredible return on an investment for an advertiser on the broadcast.

This NFL season, regular season games were viewed by 5 percent more people than in 2012.

Then in the post season, nine of the ten playoff games boasted more than 30 million people watching, with the conference title games up 20 percent from last year.

It is no secret that the NFL is big business. But this weekend’s extravaganza will likely end a profitable season with a bang.

2.The world’s biggest stage

For 47 seasons, the Super Bowl has taken place in a temperate climate with a relaxed feel in a relatively small city such as Tampa or New Orleans.

This year, right across the Hudson River from the largest city in the country, a cold weather, east coast metropolitan Super Bowl threatens to change the way NFL championships are decided. The game, which after record cold in the northeast appears to have reasonable weather expected, could open the door to games in other northern cities, like Philadelphia, should the event be a success.

The controlled environment of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta could be giving way to a tough testing Super Bowl that welcomes the elements as another factor in proving a team is the best in the game.

3.Big scoring potential

The scoring potential: There is no way to predict if Peyton Manning and the Broncos will be able to transfer their regular season scoring supremacy onto the field at MetLife Stadium.

Nor can one surmise that the Seahawks, the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense, will be able to take advantage of a Manning “duck,” to help support Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense.

But one thing is for sure; the big play possibility in this Super Bowl is certainly a reason to watch.

Manning threw for a record 55 touchdowns this season. His team was the first ever to score more than 600 points in a season and the 37-year-old future hall of fame quarterback has only faced pressure on 22 percent of his throws.

This will likely not be the case against Seattle, a defense that is eighth in the league in sacks, and first in the entire NFL in points allowed, at just 14.4 ppg.

Something has to give, Sunday afternoon something will.