Some weeks ago I came to the realization that the idea of playoffs in sports needed to be questioned. Why do we need to go through a tournament on top of a regular season? Throughout my many years of sports watching I have sat on my couch like an obedient human-potato crossbreed and allowed my emotions to be toyed with by the drama that playoffs create. The word 'create' is key in this case. You see, it has occurred to me that playoffs simply generate unnecessary hype while never guaranteeing that the best team will win.
Let's tweak some things to give you a better idea of what can be in the world of sports as opposed to what is. At the moment a mediocre team can make their way into post season play and author a Cinderella story that we find ourselves rooting for because the underdog is adorable. Scratch that. Erase the post season and allow the best team to raise their deserved trophy. Long gone are the days of divisions easily dominated by superior teams, tough schedules and cupcake schedules, and watching the best teams make early playoff exits. We're crowning an undisputed champion here, aren't we?
This is why a season should be played with a sense of urgency from opening day. Look at the English Premier League for example. Manchester United will be champions this season barring a seemingly impossible meltdown. No playoff games will be played and they didn't come out on top in any conference division; they have simply been without a doubt the best team this season. That may sound boring until you find out that the bottom 3 teams are battling to stay in the League and teams in 3rd, 4th, and 5th are attempting to obtain a top 4 position in order to qualify for the Champions League (a tournament played for European soccer supremacy). In other words, there are still reasons to watch unless you solely care about trophies and rings (these people exist).
Admit it, it's ridiculous that season after season we are sold a regular season that can be dissected into games that matter and games that don't. The stretches of mediocre play by teams are too abundant to sit back and simply accept. The NFL's short season disallows the nonchalant attitude found in the NBA where a coach will give up on a game because his team is surely making the playoffs. This is one of the reasons why Football has been crowned America's favorite sport; even overshadowing America's favorite 1,000 game season pastime. If we want to watch teams compete on a daily basis we should consider doing away with post season play.
It's also time to grow the sport of basketball beyond that of any other by starting a world wide tournament like the Champions League. The Knicks versus Barcelona at MSG? Yes please.
Alex Moran
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