Fans like to whine.
When it comes time for the postseason, fans really like to whine.
This season in the NFL is no different. Radio stations, newspapers, magazines and websites are all fluttering about the hapless 7-9 Seattle Seahawks entering the postseason. Sports pundits and fans have a right – Seattle is an abysmal team. The ‘Hawks were outscored by 97 points this season and posted just one victory against a winning team – a three point barn-burner against Chicago in week six. Seattle surges into the postseason having lost seven of their last 10 games.
You're the one who will intercept this pass!
There is no dispute, the Seahawks are not a particularly compelling team. The quarterback controversy for the NFC’s No. 4 seed is between a washed-up 35-year-old with a bad back and wet-noodle for an arm, and the 28-year-old homeless guy with two career starts under his belt. Hasselbeck or Whitehurst? Not exactly a compelling storyline. Actually, the most interesting part about Seattle’s season is the fact that I was able to stay awake throughout the entire travesty of a football game dubbed “The NFC West Championship,” this past Sunday night (Okay I flipped around, but you get the idea).
Charlie Whitehurst - the man Tim Tebow prays to every night
So now every self-righteous sports blogger (ahem) and columnist is deciding whether the Seahawks should be a playoff team or not. But honestly, this shouldn’t come as a shock. For every major sport, there are problems with its playoff system; at least according to the media and fans.
Think baseball (and keep in mind these aren’t my arguments, they’re topics of discussion every season). Only eight teams make the playoffs? Well that makes a 162-game regular season much too long. Why is the first round only best-of-five and not best-of-seven like the other rounds? Only one wild card team per league?
Hey NFL fans, almost every season in MLB an inferior division winner gets a playoff spot over a team with a better record from a stronger division. Look at the AL East.
Basketball. How can 16 teams make the playoffs? Losing teams make the playoffs every season. If the playoffs started today, the No. 1 seed Celtics would be matched up with the No. 8 seed Bucks, who are six games under .500. Anyone placing money on Jennings and Milwaukee in that one? If so many teams make the playoffs in the NBA, what importance does the regular season have?
Hockey: ditto.
Do we really need to discuss the BCS for college football? Ask NFL fans if they’d rather adopt that system.
Even NCAA basketball , which has probably the most widely accepted and revered playoff system, can’t help but tinker with its formula. Adding more teams must be a good thing right?
Clearly, every major sport has issues when it comes to its playoffs, and frankly, it’s time we stop complaining each season. Trust me, you’ll live a much happier and healthier life if you just move on from the idiocy of postseason formulas.
But for now sports fans, take solace in the fact that the Seattle Seahawks will get destroyed on Saturday and we won’t have to hear about a bad team making the playoffs any more. That is, until the Milwaukee Bucks grab the No. 8 seed.
The Bleacher Seat 