By Pete Williams

Ever since the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts Sunday night, the NFL has been touting Super Bowl 44 as the highest-rated program in television history.

The NFL is lying.

On Sunday, 106.5 million people in this country watched the Super Bowl, slightly more than the 106 million who watched the final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983.

The difference, of course, is population. There were roughly 235 million people in this country in 1983. Now there are 308 million. As a percentage of viewers, which is what TV ratings represent, it’s not even close. M*A*S*H still holds the record – a Nielsen rating of 60.2 and a 77 share of the audience.

Super Bowl 44 got “only” a 46.4 rating and a 68 percent share. If the NFL wants to trumpet this as the “most-watched” TV event, that’s true, though only by a slim margin. But to call it the “highest-rated” program is false, not that the NFL worries too much about the truth. This is a league, after all, that would have you believe that it’s free of performance-enhancing drugs and that long-term brain damage is not a problem among ex-players.

For people who don’t remember 1983, it must be mind-boggling to think that a network television program drew nearly two-thirds of the population on Feb. 28, 1983, a Monday night, for a two-and-a-half hour season finale.

Back then, many households did not have cable television. Network TV still ruled. M*A*S*H, one of the five best shows ever, still commanded a huge audience even though it lasted four times longer than the Korean War it portrayed.

Even at 13, I was a huge M*A*S*H fan and was horrified when my youth basketball coach didn’t call off our Monday night practice. There was no such thing as a DVR back then and we didn’t even have a VCR yet. I would have missed the show. Thankfully, the coach called practice when only four of us showed up.

I thought of that Sunday night when my son’s swim program staged a weekend-long meet that included a Sunday evening session. Not until Sunday morning did the organizers realize it might be a good idea to move that session up two hours from its 5:30 p.m. scheduled start.

There’s no denying that the NFL is a white-hot entertainment property, arguably as popular as it has ever been. But because of the fragmentation of our media culture, nothing – not even the Super Bowl – will ever again command the audience that M*A*S*H drew on Feb. 28, 1983.

It’s a record that will never be broken.

By Pete Williams

Most pro and college sports teams are tone deaf when it comes to the economy. Despite the worst economy of our lifetimes, ticket prices keep going up. Remarkably, teams wonder where all the fans went

Here in the Tampa Bay area, the Buccaneers raised prices across the board nearly 35 percent in 2008, even as the economy was tanking. Fans fled, the stadium emptied, and even now the Bucs still don’t get it. They’ve made only token reductions in ticket prices the last two offseasons.

Even in the best of economic times, teams have mortgaged their long-term futures by making tickets so ridiculously expensive it’s impossible for families to attend.

That’s why the University of South Florida’s basketball team is so refreshing. Back in November, the team announced that all school-age children – kindergarten through high school seniors – would be admitted for free. Not just for one game, not just for non-conference games, but for every game.

Not only that but many seats in the building go for just $10. And since the Bulls don’t draw well, it’s possible to move into better seats if you like. (Ushers guard the lower bowl, as they should.)

Yesterday I took my two sons to a Bulls game for $10 (plus $10 to park). We saw two teams from a major hoops conference (Big East) square off in a terrific game. USF, led by the hottest player in college basketball (Dominique Jones) knocked off Pittsburgh, which came into the game ranked 17th in the nation.

Jones scored 37 points and has averaged 37 over his last three games – all Big East conference wins for the Bulls.

It cost us a grand total of $20. I even brought a backpack full of snacks for the kids into the game. I’m not sure if this is allowed or the guy at the door was just being nice.

Either way, it cost just $20 for the three of us to attend. I’m frugal, but I saw other parents spending a lot on concessions.

Now you could argue that the USF basketball team has been so bad for so long, they have nothing to lose by letting kids in for free. Even on a non-football Sunday against a ranked opponent, the Sun Dome was barely half full.

But USF is hardly the only college or pro team that has struggled for years and has been playing in half-empty buildings. My youngest son (4) had never seen a basketball game and might not have any time soon were it not for the free admission. My 7-year-old seemed more engaged in the game than when I took him to one two years ago. They’re far more likely to become basketball fans than they were 24 hours ago.

There were a lot of kids at the game and if USF keeps winning, there no doubt will be more. Take a look around the next time you go to a major college or pro sporting event. Kids make up 5 percent of attendance, if that. Where are the fans going to come from 20 years from now?

Pro sports already have lost a generation of fans. I know this from speaking to classes of grade school, high school, and college students about working in sports journalism. Few kids follow sports. Why should they? Their parents were priced out long ago.

Imagine the goodwill if the Tampa Bay Rays announced that kids got in free for every game this upcoming season. If the Rays insist on excluding games against the Yankees and Red Sox, fine, though given the Rays attendance last season, that’s probably unnecessary. Like USF, the Rays could limit the free tickets to the two cheapest sections. Make it significant, however, including all upper deck seating.

In fairness to the Rays, they already offer free parking (for carloads of four or more) and allow fans to bring in as much food and non-alcoholic drinks as they like. Rays tickets are among the most affordable in all of sports.

Still, for a team whose initial trial balloons for a new ballpark have been rejected, wouldn’t this be an obvious thing to do? After all, watching Pat Burrell mail it in is a lot to ask kids of any age – even for free.

Maybe USF will discontinue this policy when the season ends. After all, basketball coach Stan Heath is building a program worthy of paid admissions. But the school deserves praise for its kids-for-free policy.

It’s a promotion other teams, especially in the professional ranks, would be wise to emulate.