The NFL in the 21st Century

Between 2001 and 2022, the NFL played 22 different seasons of football -- as many as it played, say, from 1971 to 1992.  What are the best games of the 21st century?  Pro Football Reference picked the NFL's top 100 games in history last year, and here are their picks for the top 10 games in this century, along with where they ranked in the overall top 100:

5.  Super Bowl XLII:  New York Giants 17, New England 14 (Feb. 3, 2008)

8.  Super Bowl XLIX:  New England 28, Seattle 24 (Feb. 1, 2015)

9.  Super Bowl LI:  New England 34, Atlanta 28 (OT) (Feb. 5, 2017)

12.  Super Bowl XLIII:  Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23 (Feb. 1, 2009)

14.  Super Bowl LII:  Philadelphia 41, New England 33 (Feb. 4, 2018)

15.  2001 AFC Divisional Playoffs:  New England 16, Oakland 13 (Jan. 19, 2002)

20.  Super Bowl XXXVI:  New England 20, St. Louis Rams 17 (Feb. 3, 2002)

21.  2006 AFC Championship:  Indianapolis 38, New England 34 (Jan. 21, 2007)

24.  2017 NFC Divisional Playoffs:  Minnesota 29, New Orleans 24 (Jan. 14, 2018)

30.  Super Bowl XLVII:  Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31 (Feb. 3, 2013)

This list came out last year, so it didn't include the 2021-22 playoffs.  I would certainly put last year's Kansas City/Buffalo game on the list -- I thought it was the best game I'd seen since the Chargers/Dolphins playoff game back on January 2, 1982.  They had that Chargers/Dolphins game as number 4, on their list, but above the Super Bowl where the Giants ended New England's perfect season.  I would fit the Kansas City/Buffalo game in between those two.  In other words, for me it was the best game of the 21st Century.  There were a lot of good playoff games last year, but I think that's the only one that would make the top ten.

I think that from now on, I'm going to try to think of sports more in 21st century terms.  There's so much nostalgia in the sports world now that we aren't giving enough credit to what's happening in front of us.

Oh, Montana

And here's a route for discussion on nth Podcast.

NFL at Disneyworld

My wife, 4-year-old daughter and I went to Disneyworld last summer, and it was fantastic. I was never a Disney kid. But I've been to Disneyworld twice as an adult, and I am a huge, huge fan. I hope I get to go back again.

I have created a very entertaining game to play while walking around at Disneyworld, and it's especially entertaining during the last days before the NFL season starts. While I imagine it could be easily modified for other sports, I do believe the game is particularly fitting for an NFL season if you're going to be at the venue over multiple days. Therefore, I named the game …

NFL at Disneyworld

Object: To transform potentially irritating moments at heavily crowded events by recreating the excitement of a full NFL season.

Players: One or more.

Ages: 5 and up.

Equipment: None required, though a pen or pencil and a pad or scrap of paper are recommended.

Directions: Upon passing through the official entry gate of the venue, scan the crowd for NFL team names or logos. Track sightings of each team--the more sightings of a team name or logo, the better that team performs during the imaginary season.

Now, you'll note the fairly lightweight framework of rules here; that's intentional so as to allow customizing of the standard NFL at Disneyworld platform for the unique opportunities and challenges presented by a given venue. So, for example, on last summer's trip, I knew that we were planning to be at Disneyworld for four days. In light of this, I decided to organize the "season" into four sections--each day indicating how a team performed in each of the four quarters of its season. The team name/logo sightings do not nearly track to wins within that quarter's four games; rather, they only suggest how well one team did against another in that quarter.

Here are the results that I recorded in July 2013 (and finally got typed up in August 2013):

Date: August 16, 2013 9:57:51 AM CDT

Subject: Re: nfl at disneyworld

July 11

Dolphins 4, Patriots 3, Jets 2, Bills 1
Ravens 2, Steelers 2, Bengals 2, Browns 1
Texans 3, Jaguars 1, Colts 1, Titans 1
Broncos 5, Raiders 2, Chiefs 1, Chargers 1
Cowboys 4, Giants 5, Redskins 3, Eagles 1
Bucs 2, Panthers 2, Falcons 1, Saints 1
Lions 3, Packers 2, Bears 1, Vikings 1
Cardinals 1, Rams 1, 49ers 1, Seahawks 1

July 13

Dolphins 2, Patriots 4, Jets 1, Bills 1,
Steelers 2, Ravens 1, Bengals 1, Browns 1,
Jaguars 2, Colts 1, Texans 1, Titans 1,
Raiders 2, Broncos 2, Chiefs 1, Chargers 1,
Giants 3, Cowboys 3, Redskins 2, Eagles 1,
Bears 2, Lions 1, Packers 1, Vikings 1,
Bucs 3, Falcons 3, Saints 3, Panthers 1,
Cardinals 1, Rams 1, 49ers 1, Seahawks 1

July 18

Jets 3, Dolphins 3, Patriots 2, Bills 1
Steelers 3, Ravens 2, Browns 1, Bengals 1
Texans 3, Colts 3, Jaguars 1, Titans 1
Raiders 1, Broncos 1, Chiefs 1, Chargers 1
Giants 6, Cowboys 2, Redskins 1, Eagles 1
Bears 1, Lions 1, Packers 1, Vikings 1,
Saints 1, Bucs 1, Falcons 1, Panthers 1,
49ers 1, Seahawks 2, Cardinals 1, Rams 1

Norman Rockwell was doing ad art for Parker Pens as late 1961.

Trigg and Woodford County plates in the hotel parking lot. Bumper sticker on Woodford County vehicle: "Comrade Obama."

July 19

Dolphins 2, Patriots 5, Jets 3, Bills 3
Colts 1, Texans 4, Titans 1, Jaguars 1
Steelers 3, Ravens 2, Browns 2, Bengals 1
Broncos 7, Raiders 3, Chiefs 2, Chargers 2
Cowboys 10, Eagles 3, Redskins 2, Giants 5
Bears 3, Vikings 4, Lions 2, Packers 3
Saints 4, Bucs 2, Panthers 3, Falcons 2
Rams 2, 49ers 1, Cardinals 1, Seahawks 2

White-chocolate and cinnamon apple
Crevia de Elote (427) artwork creator, It's a Small World
Lights backyard on wire
Norway and Mexico rides with Mom
Connect outreach to one school?

So, you will note that this process correctly projected the strong performances of the Broncos and the Seahawks, the two actual Super Bowl participants, as well as the late-season swoon of the Dolphins after their quick start and dalliance with a postseason berth.

You will note, too, that I took some other notes during this process. I'll tell you what, boy, that white-chocolate and cinnamon apple that I had somewhere in Epcot was just astoundingly great. Also, I did end up doing some backyard lighting for my wife for Mother's Day, but, instead of suspending lights from some type of wire across the yard, I went with luminaries in her grandparents' old canning jars.

They were well received.

In conclusion, I love Norman Rockwell and It's a Small World.