With the MLB Playoffs starting tonight, why be boring with some sort of preview or analysis? Why not debate the merits of October along with the other major pro sports (NFL, NBA, NHL... yes NHL is still a Big 4 sport, we haven't quite warmed up to the Chase or the Fed Ex Cup yet). So let's go 1 vs 2 as we debate questions about the postseasons!
Which Sport Has The Best Postseason?
Y1: This is a tough question, but the answer has to be the NFL Playoffs. It has the drama of win or go home games, justly rewards great regular season teams, and doesn't drag on for ages and ages of time. Each playoff game means something and has the ability to create a moment that we'll remember forever.
Wild Card moments like the Music City Miracle, the Bills' comeback, or the Saints first ever playoff win (my fav of course above). Great Divisional moments like the Tuck Rule, the Chiefs/Dolphins marathon, or the Immaculate Reception. Fantastic Championship games like The Catch, Manning beating Brady, and The Drive and The Fumble. Awesome Super Bowls, including several this decade. Every game, every moment can produce something that we'll remember forever. That's why the NFL Playoffs reign supreme.
Y2: Agreed, you certainly can't go wrong with the NFL Playoffs and the do-or-die feeling about every single game. But I'm going to go outside the box and actually admit that I love the NHL Playoffs. Sure, I don't pay any attention to the NHL regular season. But no matter who the good teams are, I can always get into the war of attrition that the NHL Playoffs is. The first thing I love are the sudden death overtimes. There's nothing more dramatic than overtime playoff hockey where every hit, every pass, every shot is the difference between playoff life and death. The level of play and physicality is significantly higher than the regular season, and that comes through when watching. There's also a great mix of first-round upsets and the best players and teams usually making it through the majority of the postseason. Not to mention, you gotta love the playoff beards! As a fellow facial-hair man myself, I have to support my own bearded people!
Which Sport Has The Worst Postseason?
Y1: Unfortunately, as a basketball junkie, I have to say the NBA Playoffs. Don't get me wrong, I love the NBA playoffs, personally it's probably my favorite to watch throughout. But, looking at it objectively, it has the worst postseason. The NFL has more exciting games, baseball has more tradition, and hockey has more compelling drama. Usually, in the NBA, we know when the Playoffs begin who's going to make the Finals, and who's going to win it all. Barring a Golden St. style upset, the 1st Round is usually a snoozer, and the whole thing takes entirely too long. Also, in the last few years there hasn't been a compelling Finals series (Spurs win = giant yawn). Do you remember a great Finals game this decade besides the C's comeback game in LA? It kills me to say this, but out of the 4 Major sports, the NBA's postseason is left wanting.
Y2: While I'll agree the NBA Playoffs have some improvements that could be made, I'm going to go with the baseball playoffs. First, the marathon of a regular season diminishes the playoffs for me. How often does the best regular season team actually win the World Series? These teams start spring training in February, and then end the postseason in October. I'm no math major like Y1, but that's a long time. To then decide a champion in only 1 month seems anticlimactic. At least the playoffs in other sports seem to be a fairer compromise between regular season superiority and rising to the occasion in the playoffs. In baseball, one team can get hot and only has to win 11 games to win a championship.
If You Could Change One Thing, What Would It Be?
Y2: This one is obvious, the World Series start times must change. Uncle Bud has been behind the curve on several items, this issue among the most glaring and easiest to fix. With games not starting until 8:30 or 9:00, an entire generation of young fans has been forced to turn off your championship half-way through the game. Did I see any of the 2001 classic finishes? Of course not, I was in bed because I had to go to high school the next morning. Last I checked baseball was the national pastime when there were afternoon World Series games, why not revisit that concept? Thankfully, Bud has finally seen the light and evidently this year 1st pitch will happen before 8 for World Series games. I'll hold my breath until I actually see it happen and a WS game ends before midnight.
Y1: If there was one thing I could change, I would take the mediocre teams out of the NHL and NBA Playoffs. For the playoffs to run almost two and a half months in these sports is ridiculous. By the time the NBA/Stanley Cup Finals come around, you're just begging it to be over with. Making it in doesn't mean as much as football and baseball. Making the playoffs in NBA and NHL? Who cares? For crying out loud, over half the teams make the playoffs in these leagues!! Compare this to baseball and football where only about 1/3 or 1/4 of the teams make the playoffs. Do you think the Pistons were poppin' champagne after a 39-45 season in '09? How bout the 8th seeded Mighty Ducks?? I say cut the NBA and NHL playoff fields in half! But, if the commishs don't want to lose that much revenue, at least seed the Top 2 teams in each conference, and have the next 4 play a 3 game play-in series. That'll make the postseason and the regular season infinitely more exciting.
If You Could Go To A Game 7 Or A Super Bowl, Which Would It Be?
Y1: I would go to a Game 7 of a World Series. Sure, a Super Bowl would be nice, but so often you get a bad game, and then there's all of the pregame and halftime crap to deal with (unless it's Bruce of course). Game 7 is the two most magical words in sports. But, when was the last time you remember a memorable NBA Finals Game 7? John Starks' epic performance? Baseball gets the edge over hockey because of the history. Think of being at a World Series Game 7 with the ghosts of Luis Gonzalez, Bill Mazeroski, Jack Morris, Enos Slaughter's mad dash (above), Walter Johnson, and all of the other Game 7 moments swirling around. When you sit in a ballpark you not only watch the game in front of you, but feel the history being made around you, and the significance of the moment. I can think of nothing more exciting then being at a World Series Game 7 when an entire season can come down to one moment in time.
Y2: This probably is the toughest question to answer. If I had to pick one that involved one of my teams going for the championship, I would say the Super Bowl. I've never seen the Bears win one in my lifetime and they are my favorite team in any sport, period. But, if I were just watching two random teams, the Super Bowl wouldn't do it for me. The entire day has become more about the pomp and circumstance behind the Super Bowl brand instead of the game itself. So, if I'm picking one deciding game, I have to finally agree with you and say Game 7 of the World Series. Even though the playoffs are overall my least favorite, there's no other deciding game that has more tension and tradition than a close World Series Game 7 going down to the wire.
What do you think about our postseason thoughts? Leave us a comment below on your favorite postseason memory, and whether you agree or disagree with what we think! We'll be back tomorrow with our thoughts on the vastly underrated President's Cup coming up this weekend! Bye for now...
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