We are like one of those intergalactic cultures that Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise visited, where all knowledge of technology has been lost; the forgotten magic of the ancient ones. The server rooms have become dusty churches where the green-skinned, miniskirt-clad tribal women of today perform the ritual of the reboot without any underlying understanding of what it once meant. Their fear of these remnants of solid state technology and it's strange binary math has cost the lives of many of whatever passes for goats on this distant planet, offered in sacrifice to these machines in the ghost.
NFL fans are like these sexy alien women in their love of Captain Kirk and their fear of the existential threat of… mathematical elimination.
The Saints clinching the NFC South with their Thanksgiving night win is about the only thing that's been settled so far in the NFL's 100th season. Okay, I'm pretty sure the Bengals have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. And… Yeah, I think that's it. And that's kind of crazy. Maybe this is why we don't trust math: Being told there's a scenario in which the Miami Dolphins could win out and make the playoffs.
While that math does seem deranged, the mathematics of the 8 teams vying for the 6th spot in the AFC playoffs isn't. In a single elimination tournament, the best team only needs to have one bad game for every other team to have a chance at winning the Super Bowl. Any team that makes the playoffs has a shot. We're all talking about the Ravens and the Patriots and maybe the Chiefs but it's probably time to start talking about the Bills. And the Texans. Maybe you'd like to talk about the Resurrection of Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans? The math says, it could happen!
In the NFC, it isn't the wildcard spots that appear to be up for grabs but the NFC East, with the Cowboys and Eagles and two of the most talented rosters in the league are engaged in a battle to create the most tiebreakers ever needed to determine a division champion. These two teams just feel destined to finish 8-8-0, with the winner determined by a coin toss. Which would be hilarious. Anyway, yes, one of those teams will have a shot (mathematically - another piece of evidence that math is cruel and inexplicable). The Cowboys were an inconsistent clown show in the regulars season but were lucky to play in a division with even more clowns so let's say they win the NFC East. Not only are they in the playoffs, they'll host a Wild Card game! Play your best three games of the year and you're Super Bowl champs! No doubt the Boys will be featured in this year's tragic, horrifying, against all odds loss by the Saints.
It just writes itself.
There are plenty of narratives yet to be written; some have math on their side, and some don't.
It's why we root for the underdog.
Fear of Math.
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