Haven't finished reading yet but this is really cool. Even though I know what's going to happen, the smaller playoffs inject a massive amount of stakes into every game. Instead of all these teams except the Jags making, now only one of them can. It is also cool as a Brown fan as these games are recontextualized. Games are more meaningful now.
That's what small playoffs do Marc. They make every game unmissable TV. If you're not one of the top dogs, you really can't afford to fall games behind the big dogs, because that would require you beating them heads up for the remainder of the season, which is not a good bet. Also, as you get nearer to the end, you're going to find a story of championship grit that we entirely missed in real life due to the AFC West being so easy to win.
It's true that the biggest beneficiary of the small playoffs in 2023 are the Cleveland Browns. They score clutch win after clutch win in countless must-win situations to stay alive in the fight, proving themselves to be a clutch team before the playoffs ever even start, something that is not really possible under the 'let's allow everybody in' format. Nobody remembers the Browns' clutch wins in real life, because they were meaningless. Not here. In my format, these games are remembered as some of the biggest in the history of the franchise, like they should be.
I'm not normally a big fan of what ifs, but I decided this one is acceptable, due to the lesson it teaches. Plus, I don't think 'what if the NFL never changed the format' is a question anybody has ever asked before, so it keeps my publication's flavour of answering unasked questions (LOL) going on. I don't suspect I'll make a habit of doing things like this, because writing fictional storylines is much harder than just using the real ones, but it was fun. It likely won't be the last you see from me in the alternate history area.
Haven't finished reading yet but this is really cool. Even though I know what's going to happen, the smaller playoffs inject a massive amount of stakes into every game. Instead of all these teams except the Jags making, now only one of them can. It is also cool as a Brown fan as these games are recontextualized. Games are more meaningful now.
Also, congrats on your first What-If
That's what small playoffs do Marc. They make every game unmissable TV. If you're not one of the top dogs, you really can't afford to fall games behind the big dogs, because that would require you beating them heads up for the remainder of the season, which is not a good bet. Also, as you get nearer to the end, you're going to find a story of championship grit that we entirely missed in real life due to the AFC West being so easy to win.
It's true that the biggest beneficiary of the small playoffs in 2023 are the Cleveland Browns. They score clutch win after clutch win in countless must-win situations to stay alive in the fight, proving themselves to be a clutch team before the playoffs ever even start, something that is not really possible under the 'let's allow everybody in' format. Nobody remembers the Browns' clutch wins in real life, because they were meaningless. Not here. In my format, these games are remembered as some of the biggest in the history of the franchise, like they should be.
I'm not normally a big fan of what ifs, but I decided this one is acceptable, due to the lesson it teaches. Plus, I don't think 'what if the NFL never changed the format' is a question anybody has ever asked before, so it keeps my publication's flavour of answering unasked questions (LOL) going on. I don't suspect I'll make a habit of doing things like this, because writing fictional storylines is much harder than just using the real ones, but it was fun. It likely won't be the last you see from me in the alternate history area.