It is interesting when you think of past champions and
Dynasties in sports. How different would thinks look if you flipped the
outcomes of say the NFL’s Super Bowl results? All those Iconic teams now
relegated to runners up and also-rans. Suddenly legacy’s have changed and how
we view teams and players would have changed dramatically.
Not to look into every Super Bowl but a few of the notable
changes are interesting to look at.
Take for example the San Francisco 49’ers. One of the
greatest franchises in NFL history. Now, in bizzaro world would only have 1
victory on their record and that win would come on the legs of Colin
Kapernik…not Joe Montana. Montana would likely not be held in such high regard
as one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the game.
The Dallas Cowboys and especially Troy Aikman would also be
a team with a lot less shine on their star. America’s team would still have 3
championships but they would have come very early on in the first 15 years of
the NFL.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are no longer a Dynasty and Terry
Bradshaw is likely not on the Fox broadcasts each Sunday morning.
The New York Giants now have only 1 title, and it is not
with Eli or Tom Coughlin.
Now lets look at some of the teams that have a much more favorable
history now. Take a team like Minnesota.. 4 titles in the first 11 Super Bowls
looks a lot more impressive now.
The next 3 teams would have made the biggest u-turn and
greatly changed peoples perception of greatness.
The Denver Bronco’s and John Elway would now be 4-2 in the
Super Bowl and Elway is probably heralded as the greatest QB in the history of
the league.
The Buffalo Bills are now probably the greatest Dynasty in
the NFL winning the Super Bowl 4 straight years. Jim Kelly is now probably
pushing Elway for top spot on the QB list.
The Miami
Dolphins are interesting to look at now too. All of a sudden Dan Marino has his
1 championship and is elevated in the minds of fans and media alike. What is
even more interesting to think about is that there would now not be an
undefeated Miami team and all that narrative of them popping Champaign after
the last undefeated teams takes a loss
Strangely . it
is in the New England Patriots that this flip may actually be a benefit to
their legacy. As strange as it
sounds based on Tom Brady’s record/legacy and how the Patriots are perceived
throughout the league they may actually come out even more impressive. Brady would now be 2 and 4 respectable
but not great. But now he also becomes the QB of the only team to go undefeated
and win the Super Bowl, He beats Eli and the Giants twice. Is his legacy even
more impressive despite losing 4 Super Bowls? Keeping in mind he gets to keep everything
else that makes Tom Brady great.
It is an interesting debate to have not only for football
but all sports. How much worse are the Toronto Maple Leafs now? 8-13 and no
cups since 1960.
Montreal Canadians now 6-24 not such an impressive
championship record either.
It is interesting to think about and some interesting debates
could be had at the local sports bar. Both team and personal legacies would be
greatly impacted. For those who value championships when evaluating players and
their careers might be forced to change their tune.
No comments:
Post a Comment