Earlier this week, the 2011 NFL Combine kicked off, where college football players will be poked, prodded and tested by the 32 NFL teams who are trying to figure out which players to pick in the upcoming draft. The Combine runs through Tuesday, which means NFL fans will get to watch it all unfold over the weekend.

loading...

But really, how interested can audiences be in watching what ends up being a glorified gym class, where college athletes run sprints, perform standing jumps and bench press?

Last year, according to Fox Sports, the NFL Combine attracted 5.2 million viewers or more than double the viewers to ESPN's baseball telecasts on a typical week. What makes this even more amazing is that the NFL Network, which broadcasts the Combine, is in 43 million fewer homes than ESPN.

The Combine is a big, big deal and it seems it's only getting bigger.

More From 96.1 The Eagle