Baltimore Rises

I don't seem to write about anything else in my Sagittarian community column.  I had such hopes that people of a similar bent would comment and build a community.  Still, the annual comment on how the Super Bowl matters in the overall ranking of NFL championship games survives.  Note that I leave out the pre-1935 championships, as these involved simply winning what amounts to a division in modern terms - and if I were to count them, every division title would be included as well in what I consider a count of all-time greatness to date.  That being said, here are this year's comments.

Any Baltimore win does not come without controversy, as when the Baltimore Colts left in the middle of the night, they took their records with them.  As the result, when the Cleveland Brown left for Baltimore, they left their records in Cleveland - even though Cleveland has earned nothing in terms of AFC or NFL championships since the Browns were reconstituted.  An argument can reasonably be made that the team that is now the Ravens deserves both those wins and those losses.  First, let's consider the straight up rankings:

As you see, Baltimore has moved from 22 to a three way tie for 16.  Meanwhile, San Francisco moved to fifth all-time, even by losing, due to their winning of the NFC championship.  Atlanta, by losing that game dropped to 29 while New England dropped to 6th place.

Consider what happens if Baltimore keeps its Cleveland record.  Instead of 4 wins and 2 losses, it would have 8 wins and 12 losses and be ranked number 12, just ahead of Miami.  Next, lets list the number of appearances, where the Cleveland factor really means something.

San Francisco moves up to fifth position, with 20 appearances.  Baltimore moves to 20th, with only six appearances, moving out of a tie for 23rd.  Atlanta moves from 29th to 27th with their loss while New England moves from ninth to seventh, tying with Washington at 17.

Here is where the Cleveland factor really impacts Baltimore.  With 14 appearances, Cleveland is thirteenth.  Combine those with Baltimore's 6 and the franchise Mr. Brown originated is sixth, with 20 appearances but fewer victories than San Francisco.  In that way, the die was cast before Beyonce's roadies started plugging in her effects, which is why I favor wins rather than appearances.