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Not when only 37.5% of the teams have won 86% of the Super Bowls ... I posted this because I was recently looking at a list of Super Bowl winners and I decided to do the math.
And there's still 13 (40.625%) teams who've never won one ...
And 4 teams who haven't reached the Super Bowl, but might have championships before the Super Bowl era. Getting to the playoffs and winning the SB isn't an easy road. Many teams have changed GMs, coaches, players in free agency and still not even reached the playoffs.
Far more parity than the NBA. In the NBA, unless you are a one or two seed forget about even making the NBA Finals let alone winning the whole thing. In the NFL, wild card teams more regularly make it to the super bowl and even win it on occasion.
Aside from the Knicks making the finals as an 8 seed in the strike shortened 99 season, when's the last time a team seeded 3 or lower made it to the finals in the NBA?? That 99 Knicks team??
Let's look at the last 20 years. In the NFL the following teams have won a title:
New England Patriots
New York Giants
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints
Indianapolis Colts
Pittsburgh Steelers
Denver Broncos
Baltimore Ravens
Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams
Green Bay Packers
11 different teams is pretty good.
Now let's look at teams to have played in the Super Bowl
New England Patriots
New York Giants
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints
Indianapolis Colts
Pittsburgh Steelers
Denver Broncos
Baltimore Ravens
Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams
Green Bay Packers
Oakland Raiders
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Atlanta Falcons
San Francisco 49ers
Arizona Cardinals
Philadelphia Eagles
Tennessee Titans
19 different teams, or 63% of the league have played in the Super Bowl in the last 20 years. Not too bad.
Aside from the Knicks making the finals as an 8 seed in the strike shortened 99 season, when's the last time a team seeded 3 or lower made it to the finals in the NBA?? That 99 Knicks team??
The Celtics were a 4 seed when they lost to Los Angeles in the 2010 Finals. The Mavericks were a 4 seed when they lost to Miami in 2006.
In the last 20 years 16 NBA teams have made the Finals and 9 teams have won the title.
Aside from the Knicks making the finals as an 8 seed in the strike shortened 99 season, when's the last time a team seeded 3 or lower made it to the finals in the NBA?? That 99 Knicks team??
The 3 seed Mavericks won it all in 2011. The 4 seed Celtics lost to the Lakers in 2010. The 3 seed Magic lost to the Lakers the year before that. The 3 seed Spurs won it all in '07. The 4 seed Mavericks lost in '06. I'd say it's pretty common.
The 3 seed Mavericks won it all in 2011. The 4 seed Celtics lost to the Lakers in 2010. The 3 seed Magic lost to the Lakers the year before that. The 3 seed Spurs won it all in '07. The 4 seed Mavericks lost in '06. I'd say it's pretty common.
The NBA's bigger problem is probably having those 5-8 seeds then. A four seed is still a top seed in the NBA. In the NFL it is not. Too many playoff teams in the NBA. Has a 8th or 7th seeds ever won an NBA title? Or even a 5th or 6th seed in the last 20 years to compare with the last seeds in the NFL.
I don't think anyone is looking for 100% parity in the NFL, but I think all leagues considered, NFL is the best when it comes to parity.
Putting championships aside, very tiny differences in gameplay result in huge differences in what we remember. An 8-8 team is not all that different from a 10-6 team. For example, this year's Ravens. 8-8 team, clearly had lots of problems, but they were alright. Were always in the game (except week 17). Two years ago they were 10-6. I don't think they were much better on a play-by-play basis two years ago, except they had better offensive chemistry. In fact, their secondary was historically awful that year. But that year, they were one play away from the AFC Championship game (and likely the super bowl, considering the opponent). Football really is a game of inches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill the Butcher
The NBA's bigger problem is probably having those 5-8 seeds then. A four seed is still a top seed in the NBA. In the NFL it is not. Too many playoff teams in the NBA. Has a 8th or 7th seeds ever won an NBA title? Or even a 5th or 6th seed in the last 20 years to compare with the last seeds in the NFL.
I don't think anyone is looking for 100% parity in the NFL, but I think all leagues considered, NFL is the best when it comes to parity.
Basketball really is a game that can be dominated by one individual. A 7-8 seed really has no chance to beat a superstar like Lebron or Durant 4 times. In fact, looking at records, 7-8 seeds are completely mediocre teams. Hover around .500. Might even be below .500. A 5-6 seed would need some serious extenuating circumstances (half the team was injured for 2 months or something like that). I think this is part of why it's hard for me to get into basketball until playoff time. Or even until the 3rd round really. No one wants to watch the Cavs smash the Bucks 4 times in a row.
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