Jan 20, 2013; Foxboro, MA, USA; Baltimore Ravens fans celebrate after defeating the New England Patriots 2813 in the AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

The Super Bowl is almost always viewed as one of the most watched television events in America, if not the world. Annually hundreds of millions tune in for the game, half time performances and commercials.

The AFC and NFC Championship games were the two most watched shows since last year’s Super Bowl XLVI which saw Eli Manning and Tom Brady squaring off in a Super Bowl rematch. The games averaged a record 44.9 million viewers each.

The AFC Championship game drew 47.7 million viewers for CBS. The AFC game benefitted from being the prime time game with a 6:30 eastern time kick off.

The NFC Championship game which was earlier in the day and on FOX still drew 42 million viewers.

That makes this the 4th consecutive year that both games on “Championship Sunday” eclipsed the 41 million viewer mark. In fact it’s been a record post season for the NFL in terms of viewership. Five of this year’s post season match ups drew more than 35 million viewers, tying last year’s record.

This year’s Super Bowl features many story lines that will certainly intrigue sports fans. The Ravens are riding a wave of momentum through the post season after franchise player Ray Lewis announced this would be his last ride and he’d retire after this season.

This year’s match up also features two brothers on opposite side lines. John and Jim Harbaugh will both coach their respective teams in the game, a first in American professional sports.

Will you be watching and who do you think will win? Comment below and let us know.

AFC Championship: Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots Inactives

Baltimore Ravens: Tandon Doss, WR — Chykie Brown, CB — Anthony Allen, RB — Josh Bynes, LB — Justin Boren, C — Brandon McKinney, DT — Sergio Kindle, LB

New England Patriots: Ryan Mallett, QB — Stevan Ridley, RB — Shane Vereen, RB — Gary Guyton, LB — Donald Thomas, OT — Sebastian Vollmer, OT — Chad Ochocinco, WR

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The Ravens, champions of the AFC North, have not reached the big game since 2001 and have come up short in recent years on the big stage. They last reached the AFC Championship in 2009, falling to the eventual champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

New England had not won a playoff game since the 2008 AFC Championship before last week’s 45-10 trouncing of the Denver Broncos. The Patriots’ offense is as explosive as ever, scoring 32.1 points per game in the regular season, ranking third in the NFL. Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez make life very easy for Brady by getting open on virtually every snap.

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