The sun is still shining but our time with light in the sky is certainly diminishing, as we prepare to turn on the flood lights once again and begin the road to Super Bowl 52.
It’s a journey that will last throughout the autumn and winter months, culminating with the greatest event on earth next February in Minneapolis. Still, that’s a long way off and in order to get to the dance you need to possess one of the most important attributes in all of sports: durability.
Now given the title of this article you may think that we’re being a bit hypocritical by insinuating that the NFL requires durability and the NBA doesn’t. In fact, that statement couldn’t be any further from the truth – because the fitness levels required to succeed in both sports are extremely similar, and that’s not one of the factors we’re going to be focusing on.
We want to talk solely about the structure of the play off system in the National Football League, because it’s just so damn entertaining that we feel the need to flaunt our love for it. First off: just 12 of the 32 teams involved in the equation get to progress to that next level. That, in itself, creates an ‘elite’ environment in which only the best of the best can tussle it out in January.
On the opposite end of the spectrum you’ve got the world of basketball allowing 16 of the 30 teams from the league into the post season. Sixteen. That’s more than half of the competitors, essentially ensuring that a couple organisations with losing franchises will scrape their way through to the next round.
It’s a ridiculous idea in both theory and execution, because it drains all of the drama out of the first few rounds. At least with the wild cards in the NFL you know that you’re going to get teams giving their heart and soul to the cause, mainly because they’ve battled to get into that position in the first place.
Plus, the stakes are automatically so much higher. Not only is the attendance seven times that of a regular NBA clash, but it’s a one off event. There’s no best of seven series and there’s no third or fourth chances: this is it. Do or die. You win or you go home, it really is that simple and when it comes to play-off ball you can’t afford to be lenient.
If you do that then teams will automatically adjust their mentalities to “oh well, as long as we get into the playoffs we’ll be happy”. That’s just wrong. Skating by year after year doesn’t accomplish anything, and it makes the regular season in basketball feel about as important as pre-season in the NFL.
When you watch the Super Bowl you know there’s guaranteed to be one winner and one loser, meanwhile in the NBA Finals you spend at least the first three games knowing that what you’re watching has no definitive meaning behind it.
Both the financial and personal reward that you receive from making the NFL playoffs is staggering, because everyone knows that one successful year can completely change the outlook of a franchise.
It’s all about finding that positive mental attitude in addition to a fighting mind set, and that’s what the NFL playoffs promote above all others.
