This weekend a friend of mine asked me that if the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl this year, would that mean they have won the most championships. I told him no, they would not even be close to the most. So, he guessed the most championships must have been won by Pittsburgh’s teams of the 70’s and onward, Dallas’ teams in the 70’s and 90’s or San Francisco’s teams in the 80’s. Wrong, wrong, wrong. None of those teams is even remotely close to the leader. In fact, the team with the second most championships is the Chicago Bears with a total of 9. Number three is the New York Giants with 7. Number four? The Cleveland Browns. So which team does have the most NFL Championships?
Well that is simple – the Green Bay Packers with twelve (1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939, 1944, 1961, 62, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1996). My friend quickly said, that’s not what I mean, I mean Super Bowls. To me that doesn’t make any sense. Either a team has the most overall championships or not. Green Bay does, everyone else does not.
To ask the question with the qualifier of the “Super Bowl” is the same as asking which team has won the most World Series, but only after the latest divisional realignment (bringing Milwaukee back to the National League and sending Houston to the American League) – by the way that would be the Boston Red Sox. Yet, despite expansion, changes in league affiliation and realignment the New York Yankees with 27 championships are the most decorated team in major league baseball. To say that the Packers are not the current “all time” champions of the NFL because of expansion, realignment, renaming the championship game and putting roman numerals around the game is…well just stupid. By the way, in the spirit of full disclosure, the last time I was an ardent Green Bay fan was Super Bowl II in January of 1968. But, no matter what, they have the most NFL Championships.
So suck it up all of you buttercups in Boston, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. With just either 5 or 6 more Super Bowl wins you should be able to tie Green Bay. I for one am hopeful the local Atlanta Falcons can overcome their 2018 injury bug and head back to the Super Bowl next year. If we win, we will only need 12 more to be the all time leaders!!!
A Deacon's View 