A pair of grocery chains have stepped in to help prevent two NFL playoff games from dreaded blackouts this weekend.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay tweeted Friday that Meijer has purchased 1,200 tickets for Saturday's playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs and will hand them out to a deserving party:
In Cincinnati, the Bengals were able to sell out Sunday's wild-card showdown with the San Diego Chargers. The Bengals distributed a Friday press release announcing that Kroger has purchased a "large quantity" of tickets that also will be gifted to military families.
The Green Bay Packers, meanwhile, still need to sell off 1,000 tickets to avoid their first blackout since 2001, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Plenty of factors -- including 40-inch television sets -- contribute to the ticket issue, but it's disappointing to see these teams struggle to sell out their most important game of the season. How quickly would playoff action pack the house in Buffalo or Cleveland? Eight seconds? Maybe nine?
UPDATE: The Packers' official website announced all tickets have been sold for Sunday's game.
We previewed all four Wild Card games in the latest "Around The League Podcast."
