If you’ve watched an NFL game this season, and if you’re reading this I think it’s safe to assume you have, you’re part of a shift in this country back to the gridiron. NFL ratings took a slump three years ago as the controversy around kneeling became yet another front where polarization reared its ugly head.

But this latest season continues a growth trend as ratings peak with more than 16.5 million viewers tuning in to watch football. Maybe everyone’s firing up the Wynn app to put their money where their mouth is. Or, maybe the league has done an exceptional job of revamping their branding and presentation, while carefully leaving controversy in the past.

Either way, it’s working. Let’s explore some more reasons why.

Fantasy Football Makes Every Game Interesting

Fantasy Football is a powerful tool that the league goes out of its way to support and enhance – with ever-improving real time stats being recorded, reported and then blasted out to our smartphones at the speed of light.

The beauty of this marketing tool is that it makes every game interesting – even if your hometown team isn’t playing. It also encourages passionate fans to indoctrinate less enthusiastic fans in their social circle – making the fantasy football league a key component of how they interact with friends and family.

According to reports, 29 percent of fantasy football users are female. This is a demographic the NFL has spent a lot of ad money to try and engage. And if the NFL can continue to convert passive or involuntary viewers (i.e. the spouse that isn’t really into football, but ends up watching to spend time with their significant other), it’s a huge opportunity to grow viewership.

Passive Social Pressure

Small talk is an important part of life. It’s how we pass time with strangers, or thaw the ice and convert strangers into acquaintances and then into friends. I like to call it the gateway drug of choice for extroverts.

If you want to engage in enjoyable, productive small talk, you’ve gotta have something in common with the person you’re talking to. A shared experience or a shared interest helps. Football, for many people, is something that can quickly spark a fun conversation.

Even for lifelong friends, football provides an enhancer to conversations. If you’re standing around the water cooler at work and everyone else is talking about the game last night, you’re going to wish you had tuned in.

The NFL has done an incredible job supporting news sites (like the one you’re reading) and other passion blogs. This creates a web of stories and information that fans can dive into when the game isn’t on (cough, commercial breaks, cough).

So, as long as people strive to find something interesting to talk about with friends and family, the NFL has an opportunity to position themselves as a safe common-ground. It certainly beats the heck out of talking politics with your opinionated uncle at Thanksgiving.

And, if you find yourself on the road, bouncing between static radio channels, definitely give this Tampa Bay Buccaneers podcast a listen.