View Poll Results: Which championship is toughest to win once in the post-season?

Voters
48. You may not vote on this poll
  • World Series

    19 39.58%
  • Superbowl

    9 18.75%
  • NBA

    3 6.25%
  • Stanley Cup

    17 35.42%
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 36
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA (Buckhead)

    Which Championship is Hardest to Win

    After a team has made the post-season, which championship (due to structure of playoffs, nature of game, and parity in sport) is the toughest to win, including toughest to predict the winner going into the playoffs?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Acworth, GA
    Quote Originally Posted by EarlJam View Post
    After a team has made the post-season, which championship (due to structure of playoffs, nature of game, and parity in sport) is the toughest to win, including toughest to predict the winner going into the playoffs?
    Superbowl. The whole playoffs are one and out, and no home field advantage to be earned in the championship game.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA (Buckhead)
    I had to vote World Series mainly because the line between talent and momentum is so fine. In baseball, if Tampa Bay gets hot, they could easily beat the Red Sox (well, maybe not easily).

    But in say, the NFL, I don't care how hot or how much momentum a team like the Falcons may have, they will NOT beat the Patriots.

    Baseball, to me, just seems so incredibly **unpredictable.

    -EarlJam

    **Except for the A.L. East. That's always easy to predict. 2008 final standings:

    Red Sox
    Yankees
    Toronto
    Baltimore
    Tampa Bay

  4. #4
    I had to go with Stanley Cup as there are so many teams that make the playoffs. And, IIRC, all the series' are best of 7 thus it's almost like having a second season.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC
    NCAA basketball championship. You have to win six games against increasingly tough (for the most part) competition, each one single-elimination.

    It's not as tough in terms of having to play so many games, but it's very tough in terms of being able to win. Teams that play series get more chances for the best ones to prove it. In the NCAAs a VCU or LSU can knock you out on a bad night and you have no recourse.

    Edit: Just noticed that wasn't one of EJ's choices. Consider this a write-in ballot.

  6. #6
    alteran is offline All-American, Honorable Mention
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Durham-- 2 miles from Cameron, baby!
    Quote Originally Posted by TillyGalore View Post
    I had to go with Stanley Cup as there are so many teams that make the playoffs. And, IIRC, all the series' are best of 7 thus it's almost like having a second season.
    Plus the fact that the trade deadline is absurdly close to the playoffs, so the teams that barely get in can restructure their team entirely focused on the favorite in their division (who they'll face in the first round), whereas the favorites have to build for down the road, making for some very interesting early series.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA (Buckhead)
    Quote Originally Posted by mapei View Post
    NCAA basketball championship. You have to win six games against increasingly tough (for the most part) competition, each one single-elimination.

    It's not as tough in terms of having to play so many games, but it's very tough in terms of being able to win. Teams that play series get more chances for the best ones to prove it. In the NCAAs a VCU or LSU can knock you out on a bad night and you have no recourse.

    Edit: Just noticed that wasn't one of EJ's choices. Consider this a write-in ballot.
    Agreed. I left it off as I only wanted the poll to be about professional sports. But I agree with your post.

    -EarlJam

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Waterloo, Ontario (unfortunately, no longer in London England).
    The Holy Grail. Ooops, I mean the Stanley Cup, is also the best looking of all the championship trophies.



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:S...up_closeup.jpg

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Winter Park FL
    The Superbowl may be the hardest for the best team, since it is one and done and anyone can get lucky. For everyone else anything with a 7 game series has got to be the toughest. You can get lucky against a better team once, but 4 times is very difficult.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by EarlJam View Post
    After a team has made the post-season, which championship (due to structure of playoffs, nature of game, and parity in sport) is the toughest to win, including toughest to predict the winner going into the playoffs?
    Two part question, two part answer:

    Hardest to win: Averaged across all teams, once you've made the playoffs, you have a 1/16 chance of winning it all in the NBA and NHL, 1/12 chance in NFL and 1/8 chance in MLB. So its a tie between NBA and NHL

    Toughest to predict the winner going in. Totally different question. I'll say NFL because its the only one with a single game structure.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Watching carolina Go To HELL!
    Quote Originally Posted by colchar View Post
    The Holy Grail. Ooops, I mean the Stanley Cup, is also the best looking of all the championship trophies.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:S...up_closeup.jpg
    Spoken like a true Canadian!
    Ozzie, your paradigm of optimism!

    Go To Hell carolina, Go To Hell!
    9F 9F 9F
    https://ecogreen.greentechaffiliate.com

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Baseball may have the fewest playoff teams, but it's also the most difficult playoffs to get into.

    I'd have to say the World Series, but only cause I don't know much about hockey. Baseball requires the most consistency out of any sport. Case in point: this year's Mets and Yankees. Mets were hot early, fizzled out late. Yankees were putrid early, got hot late, but then fizzled out again in the playoffs. Colorado is peaking at the perfect time.

    But, I'll then add the caveat that I agree that NCAA basketball is the hardest to win. The tourney system is so wildly unpredictable. You have to play your A-game for six games in a row against teams which are very evenly matched and only gain more and more confidence with every win.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Waterloo, Ontario (unfortunately, no longer in London England).
    Quote Originally Posted by OZZIE4DUKE View Post
    Spoken like a true Canadian!
    Well yeah, but it is a gorgeous trophy (only the Grey Cup comes close but we broke that one last year).

  14. #14
    The World Series, because there's only one October.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Parts Unknown
    Stanley Cup: The off season is very short for a team who makes the playoffs.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Parts Unknown
    Quote Originally Posted by feldspar View Post
    . Baseball requires the most consistency out of any sport.
    Actually NASCAR does. It’s champion is decided more often based on consistency instead of wins.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Parts Unknown
    On second thought...wrestling...because it has to be in the script.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Los Angeles

    I agree with EarlJam

    Hard to thunk it, but I agree with EarlJam. The WS wins this poll. Talent gets most of these teams to the playoffs. But momentum and determination gets them advancing. DAMN those A-hole Mets.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedawg View Post
    Actually NASCAR does. It’s champion is decided more often based on consistency instead of wins.
    Yeah, but NASCAR isn't a sport.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    PA

    What's the starting point of this question?

    I assumed you meant from opening day - and voted the Super Bowl. NFL seasons are much more dependent on avoiding key injuries (short season, inherently violent game). Plus, you have a single elimination post-season, and a narrower distribution in talent from the top teams to the bottom.

Similar Threads

  1. Takeaways from Ntl Championship?
    By Saratoga2 in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 111
    Last Post: 04-09-2008, 10:54 AM
  2. WCC Championship
    By Channing in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 03-10-2008, 11:19 PM
  3. AL Championship Series
    By YmoBeThere in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 83
    Last Post: 10-29-2007, 12:29 AM
  4. A Championship Dance CD
    By MusicCityDevil in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 06-26-2007, 12:55 PM
  5. 5 Pieces for a Championship Run
    By kmspeaks in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 04-03-2007, 07:32 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •