|
|
Post by tristramshandy on Dec 16, 2020 20:42:57 GMT
Pure luck. When the NFL and AFL merged, what the NFC would look like was left to chance. They made five possible division set ups, put them into envelopes, and had Pete Rozelle's secretary blindly choose an envelope. Of the five envelopes, only one had Dallas in the NFC East - - the one the secretary chose. In the other four envelopes, the Vikings would have been in the East.
If plan two would have been picked, the NFC Central would have been the Falcons, Saints, Cowboys, and Cardinals - - none of which ever ended up being in the central. In that plan, the NFC West would have been the Rams, 49ers, Bears, Lions, and Packers - - three of the four teams that made up the NFC Central.
|
|
|
|
Post by sdm3 on Dec 16, 2020 20:50:09 GMT
Why are the Colts in the AFC South?
Politics and rivalries. They were never an AFL team like the other four teams in their then-division (Jets, Pats, Dolphins, Bills) so they got the ol' heave-ho. No room in the AFC North either, as the new Browns had an agreement with the NFL to always be in the same division as the Steelers and Bengals. For the fourth team, while the Titans and Jags had both played in the old AFC Central, the owners wanted Baltimore.
Colts couldn't be put in the AFC West because that would just be silly - so here they are in the South.
|
|
|
|
Post by NJtoTX on Dec 16, 2020 20:58:27 GMT
Biggest problem in filling out divisions in any sport is that there are so many fewer teams out West, or anywhere near Denver. At least in basketball, Salt Lake City has a team. And in hockey, north of the border. No matter what, you still have much farther travel distances for western teams.
Maybe switch Carolina and Dallas?
|
|
|
|
Post by TheGoodMan19 on Dec 16, 2020 22:10:23 GMT
I always thought it was a rivalry thing. The Cowboys-Redskins rivalry was huge back in the day. So was the Cowpokers-Giants and The Iggles.
A lot was power. When the divisions first were formed, the Dallas Cowboys were a powerful organization. enough to pick and choose
|
|
|
|
Post by millar70 on Dec 17, 2020 1:24:18 GMT
Never mind the Arizona Cardinals, I always wondered why the St Louis Cardinals were in the NFC East back in the day.
Never quite understood why the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons were in the NFC West back then either.
|
|
|
|
Post by hi224 on Dec 17, 2020 1:29:08 GMT
why not?.
|
|
|
|
Post by millar70 on Dec 17, 2020 1:40:11 GMT
Does Dallas seem like an Eastern United States city to you? You seriously don't understand the question? |
|
|
|
Post by hi224 on Dec 17, 2020 2:26:54 GMT
Does Dallas seem like an Eastern United States city to you? You seriously don't understand the question? I'd say the rivalry coupled with the history, means it makes sense, as others said do the Colts seem like a team from the South?.
|
|
|
|
Post by tristramshandy on Dec 17, 2020 2:39:43 GMT
Does Dallas seem like an Eastern United States city to you? You seriously don't understand the question? I'd say the rivalry coupled with the history, means it makes sense, as others said do the Colts seem like a team from the South?. Dallas had only been around since 1960, so their history was only a decade at the time of the merger. Apparently one of the early proposals was to have a Coastal Division in the NFC - - which would have been the teams on both coasts (Rams, Niners, Eagles, Giants, Redskins). It ultimately wasn't one of the five envelope proposals.
|
|
|
|
Post by tristramshandy on Dec 17, 2020 2:40:25 GMT
Never mind the Arizona Cardinals, I always wondered why the St Louis Cardinals were in the NFC East back in the day. Never quite understood why the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons were in the NFC West back then either. And the Braves were in the West too!
|
|
|
|
Post by hi224 on Dec 17, 2020 2:45:19 GMT
I'd say the rivalry coupled with the history, means it makes sense, as others said do the Colts seem like a team from the South?. Dallas had only been around since 1960, so their history was only a decade at the time of the merger. Apparently one of the early proposals was to have a Coastal Division in the NFC - - which would have been the teams on both coasts (Rams, Niners, Eagles, Giants, Redskins). It ultimately wasn't one of the five envelope proposals. Would it have been better?.
|
|
|
|
Post by tristramshandy on Dec 17, 2020 2:51:11 GMT
Dallas had only been around since 1960, so their history was only a decade at the time of the merger. Apparently one of the early proposals was to have a Coastal Division in the NFC - - which would have been the teams on both coasts (Rams, Niners, Eagles, Giants, Redskins). It ultimately wasn't one of the five envelope proposals.Would it have been better?. Just interesting. What we now associate as being "the way things should be" was just complete random luck. Other than geography, if any of the four other envelopes was picked, it would seem "natural" that the Vikings were in the NFC East. If any of Baltimore, Cleveland, or Pittsburgh had stayed in the NFC instead of moving to the AFC, they would have been the closest geographical city to those other three and would have made sense being in the NFC East too.
|
|
|
|
Post by northern on Dec 17, 2020 3:21:27 GMT
Would it have been better?. Just interesting. What we now associate as being "the way things should be" was just complete random luck. Other than geography, if any of the four other envelopes was picked, it would seem "natural" that the Vikings were in the NFC East. If any of Baltimore, Cleveland, or Pittsburgh had stayed in the NFC instead of moving to the AFC, they would have been the closest geographical city to those other three and would have made sense being in the NFC East too. I always believed the Lions should trade divisions with the Cowboys as that would make geographic sense. |
|
|
|
Post by hi224 on Dec 17, 2020 3:30:33 GMT
Would it have been better?. Just interesting. What we now associate as being "the way things should be" was just complete random luck. Other than geography, if any of the four other envelopes was picked, it would seem "natural" that the Vikings were in the NFC East. If any of Baltimore, Cleveland, or Pittsburgh had stayed in the NFC instead of moving to the AFC, they would have been the closest geographical city to those other three and would have made sense being in the NFC East too. I mean with the way they re-aligning Hockey at least NHL makes sense.
|
|
|
|
Post by ReyKahuka on Dec 17, 2020 14:46:54 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by bluerisk on Dec 17, 2020 15:00:24 GMT
Does Dallas seem like an Eastern United States city to you? You seriously don't understand the question? In this case the AFC Pats had to switch with the Cowboys: Boston Philly New York Washington I hardly think more East Coast is possible.
|
|
|
|
Post by weststigersbob on Dec 17, 2020 15:51:43 GMT
It wouldn’t be American if its Sports weren’t gerrymandered too.....
|
|
|
|
Post by NJtoTX on Dec 17, 2020 16:56:48 GMT
I just threw latitudes and longitudes into Excel and came up with this alternative.
Northern Conference
Northeast Division
Patriots
Giants
Jets
Eagles
Great Lakes Division
Ravens
Bills
Steelers
Browns
Northcentral Division
Lions
Bengals
Colts
Bears
North Division
Packers
Vikings
Broncos
Seahawks
Southern Conference
Atlantic Division
Redskins
Dolphins
Panthers
Jaguars
Southeast Division
Buccaneers
Falcons
Titans
Saints
Southwest Division
Chiefs
Texans
Cowboys
Cardinals
Pacific Division
Raiders
Rams
Chargers
Forty-Niners
|
|
|
|
Post by tristramshandy on Dec 17, 2020 17:40:19 GMT
I just threw latitudes and longitudes into Excel and came up with this alternative. Northern ConferenceNortheast Division Patriots Giants Jets Eagles Great Lakes Division Ravens Bills Steelers Browns Northcentral Division Lions Bengals Colts Bears North Division Packers Vikings Broncos Seahawks Southern ConferenceAtlantic Division Redskins Dolphins Panthers Jaguars Southeast Division Buccaneers Falcons Titans Saints Southwest Division Chiefs Texans Cowboys Cardinals Pacific Division Raiders Rams Chargers Forty-Niners I like the Great Lakes Division. Buffalo has always felt like an AFC North type of team to me.
|
|
|
|
Post by ReyKahuka on Dec 17, 2020 17:53:39 GMT
AFC North
Patriots
Bills
Jets
Ravens
AFC Central
Steelers
Bengals
Colts
Browns
AFC South
Dolphins
Jags
Texans
Titans
AFC West
Broncos
Chargers
Raiders
Chiefs
NFC East
Giants
Eagles
Washington
Carolina
NFC North
Vikings
Bears
Lions
Packers
NFC South
Saints
Falcons
Bucs
Cowboys
NFC West
Seahawks
49ers
Cardinals
Rams
|
|
