Patriots

[El Orans]

I think the Super Bowl, is the most watched sporting event on the planet.

Only when limited to one-day events...

 

[dbg40]

Point being, there must be a lot of fans world wide that care enough to watch it, and make it the bad azz sporting event of the year. Hell, you couldn't get me to watch 5 min. of soccer, let alone sit through a whole wold cup.

 

[El Orans]

Hell, you couldn't get me to watch 5 min. of soccer, let alone sit through a whole wold cup.

I feel the same about most Patriots games.

Now, Bengals @ Dolphins...

Seriously, I attended the Jaguars @ Buccaneers game last October. Even though the Bucs lost, both teams could have won in the final minute. We had a great time. Most Patriots games are simply boring...

 

[augk]

I like a good soccer match as well as a good North American football game. world cup especially.

 

[Kingpatzer]

I don't care if they win or lose. It doesn't impress me.

I'm much more impressed by the modern era consecutive win record that the Pats set a few years back (28 games or something nuts like that) rather than the seasonal record. I am, however, rather irritated at all the attention to the dolphins "record," since it is only a "record" if 2/3rds of the history of the NFL is ignored. There are several teams who have gone undefeated for a season taking the league championship with them.

I do know the Cleveland Browns went 54-4-3 their first 4 years in existence, compiling a perfect season in 1948 and taking the AAFC championship with them. One of the reasons the AAFC folded was because the Browns were so good and so dominant, that no one cared about the league, the Browns were simply the shoe-in champions year after year.

The Bears went unbeatend in the regular season in 1934 and 1942, but lost in the title match both years.

The Akron Pros did it in 1920 and the Green Bay Packers did it in 1929.

But the real achievement in terms of undefeated champions is the The Canton Bulldogs who did it in 1922 AND 1923.

When someone goes undefeated two years in a row, call me, that'll be tieing the actual record, and it will be news-worthy. 16,17 . . 20 game in a row? That's been done a lot, it's not news.

 

[augk]

Were these teams part of what is currently known as the NFL?

 

[dbg40]

Now, Bengals @ Dolphins...

Clash of the Titans!!! (pee wee football style)

 

[tedtim]

Tennis not a major sport? Are you joking???

Nope. I don't consider it a major sport. Please reread the first line in my post. Quite honestly, ice hockey is a major sport where I live. Tennis is a not. Sure it receives coverage on TV, but it is not a major sport here.

Remember that what we call football is played only in the US and Canada, while tennis is a truly global sport. Look at the top 100 players in tennis and you will see players from several dozen countries, meaning that that many countries have enough participation and interest to put players into the global elite. China, Japan, Europe (particularly Eastern Europe), Latin America, Africa, even the Middle East are all well-represented in the game's upper echelon. Not even golf is so widely played, and, in golf, the top players are mostly from the US, Europe and (particularly for women) Korea and Japan.

From an American perspective, tennis is minor. From a global perspective, however, the NFL is a footnote at best, like bobsledding only more violent and occasionally less interesting.

Precisely my point, especially considering the content of the post that I responded to was certainly not considering the global context. If it were, then there are many other sports that are truly "major" especially when compared to NFL football.

I love football, but it is a parochial taste, not an international one (NFL Europe strike a bell?) Everyone on the planet knows the likes of Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Roger Federer. I guarantee that names like Moss or Brady wouldn't be recognized in 3/4 of the world.

I have no argument with you there. How about name recognition like Kaka, Gerrard, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho? Not too many folks in the US would recognize those names.

By the way, the US Tennis Open in NY is arguably THE most attended single annual sporting event in the world (although, to be fair, it lasts two weeks and involves several venues). And spectators aren't there for the halftime show or justtuning in for the the commercials.

You forget the truly global sport of football (soccer to us). I guess that if you want to split hairs, I believe attendance at the UEFA cup is much higher than for the US Tennis open (both are tournaments, albeit the UEFA cup lasts longer).

A Patriots perfect season would still be a rare event and one that should be recognized for what it takes to accomplish it.

I still hope that they do not cover the spread (currently 13.5 points).

 

[mfalco]

I still hope that they do not cover the spread (currently 13.5 points).

Do they ever cover the spread?

 

[Kingpatzer]

Were these teams part of what is currently known as the NFL?

The Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers were. The Browns were part of the AAFC at the time.