FirstCuts: American Gladiators debuts big

By Chris Littmann
Sports don’t start and end with a referee’s whistle. FirstCuts, a blog dedicated to sports culture, will cover everything outside the lines, from the games to the gear.
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Forgive me for being a day late on this one -- that whole BCS title game got in the way. But we’ve got the numbers and evidently quite a few of you watched American Gladiators.
[quote="Variety"]According to preliminary Nielsen nationals, “American Gladiators” averaged a 5.9 rating/14 share in adults 18-49 and 12 million viewers overall, winning its 9-11 p.m. slot in key demos and becoming the highest-rated series preem of the season on any net in 18-49.
It’s also the best non-sports result in the time period for NBC in three years (since the 2005 “Golden Globe Awards”).
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I only caught a little bit of the show and wasn’t really all that impressed. Like most, I could do without the ridiculous fake trash talking -- particularly the howling from Wolf.
The only moment I really enjoyed was watching the two female contestants constantly fall over in the Eliminator event. I was laughing so hard I was crying. That poor girl in the red might still be stuck on that rope trying to pull herself up that ramp.
Did you watch? What’d you think of the show?

> ’Gladiators,’ NFL score big | Variety
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