Not really
See, here's an argument against a college football playoff system.
Granted, the Giants played a great game against the Patriots, but are we really to believe that New York is the best team in pro football? Or a Patriots team which broke every record in NFL history which happened to play its worst game out of 20 this season (and beat the Giants just a month ago)?
The Patriots weren't the better team against the Rams a few years back. Syracuse wasn't the best college men's basketball team a little while ago when Carmelo Anthony led the Orangemen through the tournament. Boise State didn't prove anything in beating Oklahoma last season in the Fiesta Bowl (except that they love running gimmick plays).
And the Giants aren't the best team in football this season ... the Patriots are.
Rooting for the underdog may be fun, but when they win all it does is cheapen the whole season.
Granted, the Giants played a great game against the Patriots, but are we really to believe that New York is the best team in pro football? Or a Patriots team which broke every record in NFL history which happened to play its worst game out of 20 this season (and beat the Giants just a month ago)?
The Patriots weren't the better team against the Rams a few years back. Syracuse wasn't the best college men's basketball team a little while ago when Carmelo Anthony led the Orangemen through the tournament. Boise State didn't prove anything in beating Oklahoma last season in the Fiesta Bowl (except that they love running gimmick plays).
And the Giants aren't the best team in football this season ... the Patriots are.
Rooting for the underdog may be fun, but when they win all it does is cheapen the whole season.
posted by Jmac at 10:15 PM
13 Comments:
But here's the thing, and I say this as a heartbroken Pats fan: if you can't show up and play at your best at the Super Bowl, then you don't deserve to be the champion.
That's true in any sport. Football, unlike most other sports, relies on one game at a time rather than series where an off night isn't the end of the world. But you know the rules, and if you can't step it up and get it done in the Super Bowl then nothing else matters.
That's true of college football teams as well. In my mind if the two teams playing in the national championship game are 12-0 and 10-2 and the undefeated team lays a big turd of a game (i.e. Ohio State and LSU this year), they shouldn't get a single first place vote even if they have the better overall record. There is no excuse for getting caught looking foolish in the championship game.
This coming from a U of Georgia fan? Get real. Why is it these type of comments are always made by those who are part of the "haves" in college football? The Patriots were the NFL's best team, but in order to be crowned the champion, you must beat your opponents in the playoffs, and that's something the Patriots did not do. Since the Giants were able to run the table in the playoffs and beat the best of the NFL, they deserve the title of "best team". Whether we like it or not, the Giants can be considered the better team, because when it mattered most, the Patriots did not step to the plate.
As for college football, your Georgia team deserved more. Had there been a playoff, Georgia could have very well proved they were the best team in the country. Now, we are to assume LSU is, even though most college football fans would agree that both USC and Georgia were playing at their peak towards the end of the season, and could have very well beat LSU. And that's why playoffs are so important, because in many cases, we see teams preform at their best towards the end of the regular season.
WACFan101
I think the bitter taste in your mouth from your boys from Boston losing is messing with your judgment. If the Patriots were the best team in the NFL, they would have won the Super Bowl. You can't stop at 18 games and just take the trophy. You have to win that last game.
The Pats may have been the best regular season team, but the post-season is another season. In those games, the Giants were the only undefeated team.
Well, I like the Patriots, but wouldn't consider them anyone near one of my favorite teams (and, truth be told, I hate the NFL). Also, if you recall, I cited the Patriots' upset over the Rams as another overrated victory.
New England laid a giant egg last night and the Giants played out of their mind, so more power to them. They won the Super Bowl, but that doesn't mean they're the best team.
But to flatly state 'the best teams win the big games' ... well, what of LSU then? They lost twice with everything on the line, but still got into the title game. Is it just when you lose? That seems backward to me.
Case in point ... the 2000-2001 Georgia men's golf team set, at the time, a record for most tournament wins in a season. They demolished everyone they faced but ... finished fourth in the NCAA Championships and Florida won. Forget that that Georgia had beaten Florida every other time out, including a 27-shot win in Puerto Rico just a month earlier, but that one event wiped out the entire season?
Actually, no, since all of the publications voted Georgia No. 1 based on the strength of their schedule. The Gators, to their credit, got the NCAA trophy, but Georgia was the best team that season.
Likewise, New England is the best team this season. They won 18 games and lost only one ... it just happened to be at the end of the season, that's all.
Jonathon, the reason it seems backward to you is because the sun is purple in your world. For the rest of us whose sun is a nice golden color, we want a playoff to determine the CFB Champion. I couldn't care less which team is the best, I just want to know who the National Champion is based on a playoff.
In the case of the NFL this year, we know who has the trophy, the Giants.
It cheapens the whole season of a team many of us strongly dislike. Isn't rooting for the underdog sometimes a desire for that to happen?
Jonathon, the reason it seems backward to you is because the sun is purple in your world. For the rest of us whose sun is a nice golden color, we want a playoff to determine the CFB Champion. I couldn't care less which team is the best, I just want to know who the National Champion is based on a playoff.
Uh ... to the first statement.
And isn't your second sorta self-defeating? If you don't care who the best team is then you don't care who the national champion is.
Of course, seeing how I argued quite adamently for a college playoff system, I don't see how that's relevant. I'm all for a limited playoff system that incorporates no more than eight teams - preferably four to six - to limit the involvement. The NFL system brings in 12 teams in a winner-take-all system.
It's why I love the baseball postseason ... a 162-game season with four teams per league playing best-of-seven series. That way you find out the best team.
It's why I love the baseball postseason ... a 162-game season with four teams per league playing best-of-seven series. That way you find out the best team.
Or, you know, the team that's lucky and hot at the right time...
They're not all best-of-seven.
Still, it's hard to be lucky for three consecutive best-of-seven series.
The Giants didn't have to be the best team in football.
They certainly didn't have to be the "best team ever."
All they had to do was be the best team last night.
Mission accomplished.
Unless you'd prefer we had a vote at the end of the regular season and simply handed the trophy to the Patriots.
Reggie
Unless you'd prefer we had a vote at the end of the regular season and simply handed the trophy to the Patriots.
Which Is exactly why I think Jmac's original post was off-base. And why a college playoff system (if it could somehow be formulated) would be a good thing.
Last night's game wasn't about the bragging rights for the "best team in pro football." It was a title game for the 2007-2008 national championship. The giants made it into the officially sanctioned playoff, won all of their games and then won the title match. They're the champs.
But no one voted on their presence in the game. There are no competing coaches polls claiming they're not the champs, etc.
They played by the rules established and took home the trophy. Season over, and there's always next year.
Wouldn't it be nice if we had such finality in college football?
-wmo
Bingo - the Super Bowl doesn't crown you "Best Team in the League" - it crowns you as Champions - which isn't always the same thing. The Mariners proved that a few years ago when they dominated in the regular season but couldn't get it done come playoff time.
Though I will say you can certainly make a case for the Giants when talking about who was the best team come the last two months of the season/playoffs. Played the Patriots tough as nails in week 17, got it done on the road throughout the NFC playoffs and then just unleashed a dominating defensive performance in the Super Bowl. Got to give the boys credit - they looked great at the end of the year.
Woe be unto Belicheck's family as I'm sure he will console himself by consuming their flesh and then dancing in a pentagram while chanting ancient Babylonian demon summoning rites.
Still, it's hard to be lucky for three consecutive best-of-seven series.
Yes. You only have to be lucky for two consecutive best-of-seven series and, more important, one best-of-five series.
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