The NFL is split into two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Each conference contains 16 teams, organized into four geographic divisions of four teams each. (See the chart below.) Six teams from each conference make the playoffs, and the respective conference champions meet in the Super Bowl.
Cleveland is an AFC team. So is Denver. As such, the ultimate Browns-Broncos brawl would have to take place in the AFC Championship Game, for a spot in the Super Bowl.
Running back Willis McGahee played for Denver in 2012, but
he suffered a season-ending knee injury that November, and the Broncos released
him the following June — not July, as
the blurb states. (Professional football is a cutthroat, bottom-line business.)
Three months later, McGahee signed with Cleveland. In a recent interview with USA Today, the two-time Pro Bowl player
pondered the possibilities of his new team, surprisingly tied for first place
in its division at the time, crossing paths with his old team in the playoffs —
but not in the Super Bowl.Cleveland battling Denver for possession of the Vince Lombardi Trophy would be a dream Super Bowl matchup in every sense of the word dream. Even my beloved Dallas Cowboys, from the NFC, have a better shot of facing the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII this season.
Well, maybe not.
* The Browns are an expansion team that began in 1999. The original Cleveland Browns franchise, which went to three AFC Championships (losing all of them to, ironically enough, Denver), became the Baltimore Ravens in 1996. The Ravens have played in — and won — two Super Bowls.
Yikes. Another sports-related injury imperiling an athlete's career. I guess it comes with stuff that deals with lots of physical contact, but there are some few guilty parties to be had there. Definitely. Athletes shouldn't be above calling out professional hazards because their well-being matters as much.
ReplyDeleteTracy @ Craig Swapp