The dirty little secret of sports is that the championship isn’t as significant as the fan generally thinks. Except we aren’t really inclined to think about it, unless we happen to be fans of very good teams that end up not winning the championship.
But not having a dog in the fight, that’s the main thing I take away from the NFC playoffs this weekend. With the 9 – 7 Giants beating the 15 – 1 Packers and the up from nowhere 13 -3 49ers defeating the more established 13 -3 Saints it is at least arguable that the two best teams in the NFC have been dispatched by lesser opponents. As I’ve argued before [http://porcupinehuddle.blogspot.com/2011/10/some-thoughts-on-baseballsports.html] there is a certain ambiguity in sports and how it defines best. One would normally think that best would be determined over a suitably long period of time, but actual sports operate playoff systems that tend to reward ‘getting hot’ at the right time rather than consistent excellence.
And no that isn’t sour grapes from a disappointed Packer fan. I grew up in Minnesota
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