Friday, January 21, 2011

THE FINAL FOUR!

Now I know that some of you are asking why the title of today's posting is using THE FINAL FOUR when most associate that name with college basketball. There are four teams left in the NFL playoffs so they too are the final four. In March I will acknowledge the name with basketball if only to tell how much I want some team to beat Duke by 76 points so I can see Coach K whine and cry. I don't care for the guy as he is a smug asshole and he needs to be caught in some kind of scandal that will bring him down several notches.

This weekend the games have the potential to provide great hitting and drama, especially in the NFC game between two franchises that have hated each other since 1921. In 1919 the Staley Food Starch Co. of Decateur Illinois wanted to form a company team - a common practice back then, and turned to a group led by George Halas to do so. In 1921, Halas moved the team to Chicago where they were called the Chicago Staleys. In 1922 Halas bought the rights to the team from Staley for $100 and renamed the team The Bears.

Halas was a tough cookie. In 1921 the newly formed Packers were attempting to sign a player that Halas wanted. The Pack were having financial difficulties at the time and Halas convinced the league to expel the team from Wisconsin. Halas then signed the player in question, after which he graciously agreed to allow the Packers back in the league.

There had been semi pro teams playing in Green Bay since around 1896 and one such team eventually joined the American Professional Football Association (the precursor to the NFL) in 1921. Their uniforms and equipment were provided by the Indian Packing Company, thus the nickname Packers - now the oldest continuously used nickname in pro-football.

Predicting the winner of this game is not easy for the long suffering fan who hopes to improve his 4-4 record and move to the positive side of the fantasy gambling ledger. Both teams play excellent defense, and it could be a very low scoring affair. I give a slight edge to the Pack because of Woodson and Mathews, and because Uhrlacher reminds no one of Dick Butkus - the greatest Bear defender of all time. On the offensive side of the ball, Aaron Rodgers is clearly superior to the Bears QB, so my pick is for the Packers to advance to the Super Bowl.

In 1933, Art Rooney established the Pittsburgh Pirates Professional Football Club. It was a common practice in the early days of pro football for the teams to use the nicknames of baseball teams. Some other examples include Phillies & Athletics franchises here in Philadelphia, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, Boston Braves, New York Yankees (who sort of evolved into today's Indianapolis Colts), Brooklyn Dodgers (an earlier iteration of the football Yankees after a stint as the Boston Yanks, if you baseball fans can wrap your head around that one), Chicago Cardinals (who now represent Arizona) and the New York Giants (who now represent New Jersey).

The name was changed to the Steelers prior to the 1940 season.

During the war, players were hard to come by and the team merged with the Eagles in 1943, playing one year as the Phil-Pitt Steagles. In 1944 they merged with the Chicago Cardinals to form Card-Pitt, being called derisively the Carpets.

The team did tie for the division with the Eagles in 1947, with the Eagles winning a playoff game against Pgh on their way to a league title. For most of the 50's & 60's the team sucked big time until a guy named Chuck Knoll was hired and the rest is history.

In 1960 a sportscaster name Harry Wismer founded the Titans of New York and joined the AFL as a charter member. Playing their games in a half-empty Polo Grounds, the team struggled financially and in 1962 Sonny Werblin bought the team and changed the name to the Jets. One of the first things Werblin, a showman & entrepreneur, did was to pay the then exorbitant price of $400,000 to Beaver Falls, PA QB Joe Namath who had starred for Bear Bryant at Alabama. Namath, as you should know, led the Jets to the AFL's first Super Bowl win in Super Bowl III over the then Baltimore Colt (formerly sort of the Dallas Texans, who sort of inherited the New York Yankees franchise, and not at all related to the original Colts who joined the NFL from the AAFC. It helps if you make a spreadsheet. Franchises were as unstable during football's years as a minor professional sport as say, pro lacrosse franchises are today).

The Jets fell on hard times after that historic victory and have not appeared in a Super Bowl since, while the Steelers have 6 rings. Emotionally, I am all over the Steelers in this one despite Rex and his foot fantasies. The combination of a great defense, Big Ben, and some very good receivers should be able to overcome the Jets defense and the very average Mark Sanchez. I'll pick the Black & Gold to advance to the Super Bowl for a try at ring number 7 (Eat shit and die Jerry Jones - since it will be in your building and the Cowgirls will not be there!).

As a reminder - 25 days until pitchers & catchers report! It won't be long, and I can't wait!

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