Setting up for the Big Game and looking at the also rans
In the world of participation trophies, where showing up is as important as winning, there has been movement in the GOAT list.
SAN FRANCISCO WILL BE TIED WITH NEW ENGLAND FOR THE MOST TOTAL CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES THE MOMENT THEY STEP ON THE FIELD IN TWO WEEKS.
This is a very interesting stat and it is all due to their quarterback, who made side arm passing a thing. He is worthy of his endorsement deal. He is already on the GOAT list with Starr, Favre, Rogers, Montana, Bradshaw, Roethlisberger, Staubach, Romo, Aikman, Young, Manning (both) and Elway for the impact they have had on their team's rise on this listing. Full disclosure, I have also been a long time State Farm policy holder - when I have something to insure.
Green Bay is edged down to third and the tie for fourth place (24 appearances) now has one less member because of San Francisco's victory.
San Francisco has also moved up from 6th to 5th in the championship trophy race, adding a 13th trophy, swapping places with New York on the Trophy GOAT list. If they win next week, they will replace Dallas at #4 GOAT. If they lose, they will stay in 5th place.
Kansas City, by stepping on the field next week, will have 16 Championship appearances. This ties them for 11th place all-time with Chicago and Philadelphia. They had been tied with Minnesota and Cleveland who have 14 and they pushed Indianapolis down to 14th place.
On the all time GOAT list, KC has switched places with Washington, going from #9 to #8 (although, overall, Washington is still in the top 10 GOAT list. They just need to remember that they were once good.
If your idea of GOAT is percentage of championship games won (both conference and league), Kansas City and Tampa Bay are at the top, with KC doing so with many more trophies. So if percentages are more important than trophies, KC is already the GOAT (unless they lose next week).
If KC wins, they will switch places with Denver. Both will have eleven trophies, but KC will have the fewest losses between the two. A two position jump is nothing to sneeze at.
It has been a long march for KC to get to where they are in GOAT list, just as it took a long time for New England, Pittsburgh and Dallas to get there. Green Bay was born there (although there were no title games in the first seasons, which is why I only credit them with NFL, NFC and Big Game trophies). Before the trophies, they were essentially division champions. We have 8 such winners each year in the modern day. Not so big a deal any more.
Baltimore and Detroit have moved up on the participation trophy list by playing today, but each lost a position by losing the game. Of course, for Baltimore, this does not count the trophies they were forced to leave in Cleveland as well as the ones that Indianapolis took with them when they left in the middle of the night in 1984. With either set of trophies, they would be higher in the GOAT list. They got screwed twice - and they are still ahead of most teams who have been around longer - but what's in a name?
Because they went from 4 wins and 2 losses to 4 and 3, they leave Tampa Bay alone at 17th place while dragging Seattle up to 18th - because math. Having a 4-3 record is not as bad as it used to be. Congrats Seattle on the undeserved win on the GOAT list. To paraphrase the computer in War Games, sometimes the only way to win is not to play.
There is less to talk about after Game Day. There always is because fewer balls are in the air. I will simply congratulate the winner and post the new final list for the year.
posted by Michael Bindner at 11:41 PM
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