jeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson) (09/21/83)
It's been about 15 years now since the NFL and the AFL merged,
so there is really no fundamental difference between the NFC and
AFC anymore. That being the case, I think it's time for the NFL
to realign its divisions. It seems silly not to take advantage
of natural geographical rivalries like Miami/Tampa, Dallas/Houston,
Raiders/Rams and Giants/Jets. I have come up with the following
realignment scheme which maximises geographical rivalries and should
cut down on travel too. However, having lived in Canada all my
life, I don't really have a NFL team that I am dedicated to supporting,
(The closest one is Buffalo, and I don't really think of them as a
home team for me.) and I don't have a good knowledge of any traditional,
non-geographic rivalries that I may be breaking up with this scheme.
Those rivalries could be at least partially preserved by making sure
the teams play each other anyway. Anyway, what I want to know is
what you dedicated American football fans think of my idea. If you
give me your opinion, please include where you are from and which
team(s) you are loyal to. I don't care if one division has weaker
teams than another, because that will change quickly. Besides, there
are divisions like that now anyway.
NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIV. ERIE DIV. MIDWEST DIV.
New England Buffalo Detroit
NY Giants Cleveland Chicago
NY Jets Cincinnati Green Bay
Baltimore Pittsburgh Minnesota
Washington Philadelphia
SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE
SOUTHERN DIV. CENTRAL DIV. PACIFIC DIV.
Miami Houston Seattle
Tampa Dallas San Francisco
Atlanta St.Louis LA Raiders
New Orleans Kansas City LA Rams
Denver San Diego
I wanted to put the Eagles in the Atlantic and the Saints in the
Central, but the numbers wouldn't permit it.
The Super Bowl will always be somebody from the Northeastern part of
the country against somebody from the South or West. Perhaps this
would give the NFL something similar to the Canadian Football League,
where the championship game is always East against West, a match-up
that's very easy for Canadians to get excited about.
Jeff Richardson
DCIEM, Toronto