OK, here's the basic stats stuff. We're currently on a near-identical trajectory in terms of daily posts as we were in 2009. Apparently regime changes spur a lot of discussion.
What I think is perhaps more interesting (as alluded to above) is that the number of people logging in every day is MUCH higher this year than it has been in the past. Of course, it will regress to the mean a bit as the offseason wears on without a lot to talk about, but it's still a pretty striking difference.