# 2012 NFL Playoffs Discussion Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 4, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401 "2012-01-04T18:13:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 44
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/862 "2012-01-23T17:21:32Z")
I’m pretty sure the hatred for the Patriots is due to being Boston’s team, but even that didn’t seem to do it until the Red Sox won the World Series in '04. That’s when, imo, the Boston crowd became overwhelmingly obnoxious. If it were the Bills who had won 3 Super Bowls and lost 1, I don’t think people would mind at all. The Spygate thing plays a role, but I think that was just tacked on to the Boston thing, as it didn’t come out until 2007, and people by then were growing tired of Boston success. And when it comes to sports, I don’t really care about cheating that much. The Patriots weren’t out trying to injure guys. To me, it’s a case of “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying” and there are probably other teams that either did something similar, or wish they’d tried it first. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/863 "2012-01-23T17:35:35Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Cowboys Steelers: 1976, 1979, 1996 > 49ers Bengals: 1982, 1989 > Dolphins Redskins: 1973, 1983 > Cowboys Bills: 1993, 1994 > Giants Patriots: 2008, 2012 > > 11/46 Supr Bowls feature a pair of teams with one or more rematches. Is this statistically unusual in any way? Do other sports have a similar championship rematch rate (24%)? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/864 "2012-01-23T17:54:54Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Cowboys Steelers: 1976, 1979, 1996 > 49ers Bengals: 1982, 1989 > Dolphins Redskins: 1973, 1983 > Cowboys Bills: 1993, 1994 > Giants Patriots: 2008, 2012 > > 11/46 Supr Bowls feature a pair of teams with one or more rematches. Is this statistically unusual in any way? > [@Bearflag70](#): > > Do other sports have a similar championship rematch rate (24%)? On the other hand, which team has played the most Superbowls against different opponents? This is the Pats’ seventh SB but they’ve played against six different teams (Bears, Packers, Rams, Panthers, Eagles, and Giants x 2). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/865 "2012-01-23T18:07:12Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > On the other hand, which team has played the most Superbowls against different opponents? The Patriots and Steelers have both played six different opponents. The Steelers and Cowboys have both made it eight times (they’ve played each other three times and the Cowboys had two games against the Bills), and as noted, this is the first SB rematch for the Patriots. The Broncos and Packers have both played in five Super Bowls without participating in a rematch. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/866 "2012-01-23T18:15:00Z")
What I always thought was kind of freaky was that in every World Cup final since 1950 except for one (1974) either (West) Germany or Brazil played, but they didn’t play each other until 2002. In both games I think that the better team neither won nor lost, a slight change either way and the other team wins, and I would rate the team as essentially equally good but somebody has to win. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/867 "2012-01-23T18:59:14Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Do other sports have a similar championship rematch rate (24%)? Haven’t crunched the numbers, but I’d be shocked if the NBA wasn’t much higher than that - Lakers-Celtics, Lakers-6ers, Lakers-Pistons, Rockets-Celtics, hell even the Heat and Mavericks have been in the finals twice each, five years apart, and both times against each other. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/868 "2012-01-23T19:08:20Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Do other sports have a similar championship rematch rate (24%)? I think it’s a bit misleading to regard this as an 11/46 rematch rate: the 5 first games between these pairs of opponents weren’t rematches - only the 6 subsequent games were. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/869 "2012-01-23T19:49:34Z")
Checking in the next day… yup, still hurts. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/870 "2012-01-23T20:00:18Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Checking in the next day… yup, still hurts. I hear you. Even though they were great games to watch yesterday, I was still pained knowing the Packers were done for the year. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/871 "2012-01-23T20:26:51Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > I think it’s a bit misleading to regard this as an 11/46 rematch rate: the 5 first games between these pairs of opponents weren’t rematches - only the 6 subsequent games were. 11/46 championship matches featuring teams who have rematched each other in another championship match. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/872 "2012-01-23T20:33:18Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Checking in the next day… yup, still hurts. Other conference, same result. And I was at the game to have Cundiff rip my heart out live. :mad: On that note, the Gillette Stadium experience was great. There were a few drunken jackasses, but the vast majority of Pats fans that we interacted with were great - we were all there to watch a great football game, and we all got one. Those lucky bastahds just get one more. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/873 "2012-01-23T23:55:02Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Do other sports have a similar championship rematch rate (24%)? Considering that the Yankees have played in 37% of all World Series, baseball must be much higher than that. The Yankees have played: Dodgers 11 times Giants 7 times Cardinals 5 times Pirates 2 times Cubs 2 times Reds 2 times Phillies 2 times Braves 2 times So about 31% of all World Series have been a rematches between the Yankees and some other team. Considering the A’s, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox, Tigers, and Cubs have all been in 10 or more Series I would guess the total for baseball as a whole would be close to 50%. Aside from the dominance of the Yankees in one league, this is also because of the long history of baseball, and because for 60 years or so there were only 8 teams in each league. So of course eventually many Series will be rematches. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/874 "2012-01-24T00:24:53Z")
Regarding the rematch discussion, it reminds me of the [birthday problem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem), where the question is how many random people do you need to put in a room so that there’s at least a 50% chance that two of them share a birthday. The unintuitive answer is a mere 23. I think a similar mechanic may be in play for Superbowl rematches. Especially when you consider that there are only 16 possible opponents for any one Superbowl team. > [@Sateryn76](#): > > I have to say - I don’t get the hate for Brady. […] Just because he has a chiseled jaw and literally is married to Giselle doesn’t make him a dick. It doesn’t help that he left his still-pregnant baby mama (Bridget Moynahan) to shack up with a supermodel. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/875 "2012-01-24T00:30:11Z")
The “greatest qb class” debate is getting more fuel to the fire between the 1983 and 2004 classes. If only Philip Rivers would pull his own weight it would be closer, but even ignoring his non-contribution, the draft class of 2004 has appeared in 5 of the 8 Superbowls since 2004. By comparison, the 1983 class appeared in (I think) 6 of the first 8 Superbowls starting in 1983, plus then the next three in a row, then two more during the next 6 years. That’s still quite a lead for 1983, but not nearly as insurmountable as it once seemed. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401/876 "2012-01-26T20:52:46Z")
[Gronkowski does not practice due to ankle injury.](http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/26/gronkowski-wont-practice-thursday/related/) I believe that the Patriots have about a 5% chance to win the Super Bowl if Gronkowski is not playing. He has been the difference between touchdowns and field goals for the Pats all season long, and field goals won’t cut it. Obviously, there is a lot of time before the game for him to heal, so let’s hope he gets well soon 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-nfl-playoffs-discussion-thread/608401.md?page=43)