The 2010 regular season ended yesterday, a thrilling final day for the NFC in which two teams fought for a division title, and four other teams fought for a Wild Card berth. The issue of "who gets to go" is always an emotional one for the fans, but this day was particularly so for a number of reasons.
Take the Rams-Seahawks game, which determined the NFC West division champion. Many fans would argue that the Rams deserved it more. Seattle is a team on the decline, while the Rams boast an exciting running back and a rookie-of-the-year quarterback. Had the Rams won, their record of 8-8 would have been slightly less pathetic than the Seahawks record of 7-9, the first team with a losing record to ever make the playoffs.
Over in the Wild Card hunt, the 10-6 Buccaneers upset the defending champion Saints, only to be knocked out of contention when the 10-6 Giants and Packers won their games. Unfortunately for the Giants, the Packers held tiebreaker advantage for the final Wild Card spot. Two 10-6 teams found themselves locked out of the playoffs, while the very lowly Seahawks secured a spot by virtue of playing in the crappiest division in the NFL.
Some fans aren't happy about that, and not just the fans in New York and Tampa Bay. Some will argue that the system needs to be changed.
What if - the teams with the best records, regardless of division, got to go?
In that case, the Rams would be out, and the Giants would be in.
But wait - would we really rather have the Giants more than Tampa Bay? Tampa's a young team with a solid defense, a great young QB, and a potential Coach-of-the-Year.
How about the Cowboys? Despite their 6-10 record, they certainly became a different team after Coach Wade Phillips was let go - certainly they're better than the Rams or Seahawks. They even beat division leader Philadelphia on the last day!
Or the Vikings, another team that switched coaches mid-season. Brett Favre in the playoffs one more time? Would you count them out?
But you know what all of these teams are saying now that the season is over? They're saying, "It shouldn't have come down to that". Only three teams controlled their destiny on the last day - Green Bay, St. Louis, and Seattle. All of the other teams knew what they had to do throughout the season, and failed to do so. Like Clint Eastwood said, "Deserve" has nothing to do with it.
The NFL is not a democracy. Assuring that at least one team from each division will be represented in the playoffs - regardless of record - gives those weaker division teams and their fans a reason to stay involved. Those teams that supposedly "deserve" a spot have the Wild Card slots to fall back on.
The USA is not a democracy, either. It is a republic of states, big and small. When the Sarah Palins of the world complain about the liberal media elite, they have a point, as surely as the Obamas who look down on those who cling to their guns and religion. We're as fortunate that Alaskans have self-determination over their resources as we are to have New York and Washington bullying the nation's agenda forward. Most of all, we're fortunate that the Hurricane Katrina's are aberrations, while the everyday heroism and charity of people goes on, even without headline coverage.
So, if we should have another Election 2000 come our way and once again call our Electoral College system into question, think back to the end of the 2010 NFL season. Be glad someone represents you, and be glad someone represents the other folks, even if they're a 7-9 candidate.
