Parity = Mediocrity
©
Shane Andy Youngblood
Dec 31, 1999
I really don't enjoy the NBA at all: Part of the reason stems from the fact that 1) virtually every average makes the playoffs which means that 2) the regular season is a borefest of teams literally taking nights off even though they are scheduled to play because 3) unless you are something like 15 games below .500, then you are assured a playoff spot so why work up the sweat? Sorry, but I don't see the drama in watching Sacramento and Minnesota jockeying for that crucial sixth seed in the playoffs. And it is a best-of-five in the first round and best-of-seven every round after that for crying out loud, which undermines the regular season battle for playoff seeding even more.
I thought the NFL was my sanctuary from that cauldron of mediocrity that is the NBA. There has been three .500 teams that have ever made the NFL playoffs. Three. The NBA routinely fills about half of their post-season slots with .500 or worse teams. This tells me two things: When you only play 16 regular season games, every game is important. Additionally, when you make the NFL playoffs, this means that you are good.
And don't tell me that there is little difference between being 9-7 and 8-8. The outcome of one game means a world of difference in the NFL. When I watch a 7-7 Dallas team fall to a terrible New Orleans team when their playoff chances hang in the balance, then I am in concurrence with John Madden who stated that when you lose to New Orleans, you just aren't good enough to make the playoffs. And as I saw Olandis Gary of the Denver Broncos pound the 8-6 Detroit Lions for 175 second half rushing yards, mostly between the tackles where your manhood is tested, I thought that the Lions had no business going anywhere in the postseason except for vacationing with their respective families.
But alas, Detroit gets in despite the outcome of their contest with Minnesota this weekend. In addition, there will be one more playoff team from a collection of scrubs that includes Dallas, Carolina, the New York Giants and Green Bay, all of whom sits at 7-8. This means that it is possible that two 8-8 squads from the NFC will make the playoffs.
We all talk about parity and how it is good for the game, but I cannot remember a time that there was as many average teams/players in the NFL as there is now. This isn't parity to me: It is mediocrity.
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