Board 8 > In professional sports, how do you prefer a champion be decided?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Shattered posted...

I get why playoffs exist though. They are certainly more exciting

This should've been the end of the topic. Deciding a champion solely via end-of-season standings is boring.

Playoffs do show you which team handles high-pressure situations better, at least. But sometimes a few guys are just having a really bad day and that changes the result.

Leonhart4 posted...

Yeah, now that I read it again, I picked up on that.

For a serious reply, the BCS was better than it was given credit for. I think people overreacted to a few weird outcomes (Nebraska in 2001 and the LSU/Alabama title game being the main "offenders").

I will never be convinced that people in charge didn't collude the one year TCU and Boise St were both really good, to play each other so they didn't get a chance to prove it against one of the big boys. That's the exact moment I lost faith in that system.

I guess in something like synchronized swimming or pair skating, end of season would be fairer to see if they can perform more consistently than the competitors.

Emeraldegg posted...

I will never be convinced that people in charge didn't collude the one year TCU and Boise St were both really good, to play each other so they didn't get a chance to prove it against one of the big boys. That's the exact moment I lost faith in that system.

I mean that's a flaw with the people who pick the bowl matchups. The BCS is just for 1 vs. 2. Everything else is at the whims of people who make those decisions, and the playoff didn't do much to change it. TCU got jobbed the very first year of the playoff.

Soccer (football to me) does a pretty good job of balancing this - the league by general agreement decides the best team in each country, but the cup competitions provide more drama and (in theory) the opportunity for underdog runs and titles.

That said I wouldn't underestimate how compelling a proper title chase playing out over several months can be. Last season's between Arsenal and Manchester City was a good follow (at least until Arsenal collapsed).

Tennis has a great system for an individual sport - four 2-week long historic tournaments in different conditions; winning any of them is a great feat, winning more than 1 per year is a legendary achievement.

Leonhart4 posted...

The BCS is just for 1 vs. 2.

This is the real problem people had with the BCS. Two teams out of 120+ making the "playoffs" just isn't anywhere near enough for the system to seem fair. Forget mid-majors, there were multiple years where an undefeated power conference team didn't make the championship.

Xeybozn posted...

This is the real problem people had with the BCS. Two teams out of 120+ making the "playoffs" just isn't anywhere near enough for the system to seem fair. Forget mid-majors, there were multiple years where an undefeated power conference team didn't make the championship.

I agree (including a year when Auburn went unbeaten and got left out, which is wild to think about now)! But I'd have been fine keeping the BCS system for the playoffs. I think it works for what you actually want it to do.

I'll just reiterate, it makes no sense in motorsports and I will never like that nascar adopted a playoff.
Golf is similar, but unlike nascar, they actually REMOVE the people who did not make the playoff from the playoff.

Kotetsu534 posted...

Soccer (football to me) does a pretty good job of balancing this - the league by general agreement decides the best team in each country, but the cup competitions provide more drama and (in theory) the opportunity for underdog runs and titles.

That said I wouldn't underestimate how compelling a proper title chase playing out over several months can be. Last season's between Arsenal and Manchester City was a good follow (at least until Arsenal collapsed).

I wasn't a fan of the sport at the time, but it must've been incredibly exciting watching Leicester make their run to the title over the course of the entire Premier League season.

I'm a Manchester United fan but Man City's original PL title win has to be up there in terms of excitement given the circumstances of how it happened.

Relegation plays into it a lot too. Some of the last day relegation scenarios have been crazy

ZaziGuado posted...

I wasn't a fan of the sport at the time, but it must've been incredibly exciting watching Leicester make their run to the title over the course of the entire Premier League season.

I just kept waiting for it to fail.

i prefer playoffs because it separates the truly great from the good. athletes (regardless of sport) that can elevate their play against the toughest competition under the brightest lights are rightfully held up as the best at their craft. we see this with guys like michael jordan, tom brady, and derek jeter. obviously it is important for players to always play at a high level, but those rare players that play at a high level for the highest stakes are rightfully lauded as the best of the best imo

Playoffs easily but at the same time we see too many people minimize the regular season.