NFL 2017

[Hot Pepsi]

According to my brief research, Boston is the smallest city (based on overall metro size) to have claimed championships in each of the four "major leagues." If MLS is added to that list than nobody is on the list.

The largest city not to have done it is Dallas-Fort Worth because the Rangers have never done it.

[Hot Pepsi]

Some minor rioting going on in downtown *State College* right now because of the Eagles.
Meanwhile, at UMass in Amherst, Mass. disappointed Patriot's fans, most of whom are probably too young to realize the Pats could lose, are mad and it's getting a bit ugly there.

Coincidentally, both university's main student paper is called "The Daily Collegian," so if you search for that on twitter will see images of the unrest in both towns.

[Heliotrope]

I did a little circuit around the neighborhood (South Philly) right after the game ended, and it was basically a lot of people walking around hollering and high-fiving--not punching horses or climbing poles.

[Gerontophile]

Well, I managed to sleep through it.

Not bothered about Philly winning, but very happy about Brady losing.

[Hot Pepsi]

Sounds like it’s not as bad as when the Phillies won.

http://www.philly.com/philly/super-b...html?mobi=true

[Mr Beast]

Glad the Eagles won.

BBC News sports presenter concentrated on the half time show and the bit where Justin Timberlake was in the crowd with the 13 year old wannabe X Factor contestant. She said "he'll be the most popular schoolboy in the country."

The world has changed a great deal since I was at school.

[blameless]

Phew, that was a welcome result. If the Pats had won yet again (especially if the league office had overturned any more legit opposition touchdowns to help them), I was on the verge of giving up on the NFL altogether.

Am I right in thinking that the NFC East becomes the first division where all four teams have won a Super Bowl? The highest I can think of for any of the others is three of the four (Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos for the AFC West, Dolphins, Pats and Jets for the AFC East).

[Kevin S]

NFC West is also three, Squawks, Rams, Niners, with Cardinals having lost one.

[blameless]

Ah, I'd missed that one. The fourth teams in the divisions I mentioned have also lost a Super Bowl (Chargers) or four (Bills).

And it turns out Gisele was right - her husband can't catch the ball too...

[ursus arctos]

The "major sports" question is squirrelly because of the way that North American sports franchises and leagues work.

For example, I would argue that it was the Flyers' Stanley Cup win in 1974 completed Philadelphia's set, because the Eagles won the NFL Championship in 1960 and the Warriors had won the NBA title in 1947 and 1956 (the Athletics had won multiple World Series in the early decades of the 20th c). The idea that NFL history starts with the Super Bowl is a dumb as the idea that English football starts with the Premier League. The fact that the Warriors moved to the Bay Area is equally irrelevant, as cities should get credit for championships won there.

I also find is silly to restrict soccer to MLS. Although one could argue whether the ASL was a "major league" (especially after the 30s), the NASL was just as much of one as MLS is. As a result, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago get credit for the titles won by the Atoms, Cosmos, Aztecs and Sting.

The more debatable point is whether (and at what point) "rebel leagues" count. It is relevant here because Houston will have a complete set if one counts the Oilers' championships in the first two years of the AFL and the Aeros' WHA titles in 1974 and 1975.

[WOM]

I'm surely not the only one that makes no connection between 'New England' Patriots and Boston. It's like I need an annual reminder.

But very happy to see Cheatin' Brady and Belichuck lose. I mean, to see the other guys win. Go other guys!

JT was a bit of a dud, half-time wise. I mean, why does the the corporate music machine keep insisting he's a big deal? He's a small deal they keep foisting on us, like Lenny Kravitz.

[ad hoc]

The "cheatin" thing is a minor one compared to the fact that Brady and Belichik are hard core trumpers and Kraft is a big fan of Apartheid and racially motivated mass murder

[Kevin S]

JT was a bit of a dud, half-time wise. I mean, why does the the corporate music machine keep insisting he's a big deal? He's a small deal they keep foisting on us, like Lenny Kravitz.

That Smurfs song he did is huge with the under-10s.

[Incandenza]

Trolls, not Smurfs.

[Incandenza]

Belichick benching Malcolm Butler for the entire game, after Butler played in 98% of all of the Patriots' plays on defense for the rest of the season, was mystifying. All I can guess is that there was some issue behind the scenes and Belichick did that as a "fuck you" to him.

[Incandenza]

https://deadspin.com/things-philadel...did-1822724326

[Kevin S]

Trolls, not Smurfs.

Oops, yes.

[Hot Pepsi]

The "major sports" question is squirrelly because of the way that North American sports franchises and leagues work.

For example, I would argue that it was the Flyers' Stanley Cup win in 1974 completed Philadelphia's set, because the Eagles won the NFL Championship in 1960 and the Warriors had won the NBA title in 1947 and 1956 (the Athletics had won multiple World Series in the early decades of the 20th c). The idea that NFL history starts with the Super Bowl is a dumb as the idea that English football starts with the Premier League. The fact that the Warriors moved to the Bay Area is equally irrelevant, as cities should get credit for championships won there.

I also find is silly to restrict soccer to MLS. Although one could argue whether the ASL was a "major league" (especially after the 30s), the NASL was just as much of one as MLS is. As a result, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago get credit for the titles won by the Atoms, Cosmos, Aztecs and Sting.

The more debatable point is whether (and at what point) "rebel leagues" count. It is relevant here because Houston will have a complete set if one counts the Oilers' championships in the first two years of the AFL and the Aeros' WHA titles in 1974 and 1975.

I was just counting the leagues and championships that exist now, with the post-merger NFL counting as a different entity than the pre-merger NFL and I didn’t know that the old Warriors won a championship.

Philadelphia also has multiple championships in professional indoor and outdoor lacrosse, but both those teams have disappeared. They also have a USFL title.

[Hot Pepsi]

The "cheatin" thing is a minor one compared to the fact that Brady and Belichik are hard core trumpers and Kraft is a big fan of Apartheid and racially motivated mass murder

Hard-core is perhaps overstating it. The impression I got is that they know him personally, but don’t actually pay much attention to politics.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

How come when the local team win the big cup in america, white people are allowed celebrate by having "the purge"? There's something very Bronze age about this. That list of things that Philadelphians got up to is like something that one of those chatty Roman Chroniclers would write about the Gauls.

[Hot Pepsi]

It’s not just white people. One thing that can be said for American football is that interest in it crosses all social boundaries.

However you’re right that large gatherings to protest something, especially if it’s mostly non-white, are considered a threat to society whereas this sort of thing is just expected and no longer questioned.

[ursus arctos]

The first bit is true, but sports-related rioters are always massively white and relatively privileged in a way that isn’t representative of the fanbase as a whole.

People of colour know that they aren’t immune from the usual atrocities just because they are wearing a jersey.

[tee rex]

The behaviour (expected or real) of sports fans en masse is one of those classic examples of trans-Atlantic head-shaking, a mutual incomprehension between different species. You're supposed to riot when you lose.

[ursus arctos]

Vancouver still retains echoes of the “Most British City in North America”

[WOM]

I was doing a genuine SMH when I saw that young Philly fan braying loudly in front of the car they'd just overturned. I'm like 'Dude, there are cameras everywhere. Your life just got a whole lot more complicated."