What if the AFL and NFL Never Merged?
This is an episode exploring the implications of what would have happened if these two leagues, the AFL and NFL, would have never merged in the first place? I hope you enjoy listening
Transcript:
Pranav 0:01
Hello and welcome to sports reimagined. Today marks our first episode of the podcast. This podcast will feature us trying to imagine an alternative universe in which certain events in sports did not occur. I'm your co host Pranav.
Nitish 0:19
And hello everybody I'm your other co host Nitish.
Pranav 0:22
So today's topic is: What if the AFL and NFL never merged.
Nitish 0:26
Let's begin with a little bit of background.
Pranav 0:29
Before the modern day National Football League was formed, there was two separate leagues. These were the American Football League and the National Football League.
Nitish 0:38
There were different teams in each league competing to win each respective title. It was like today's AFC having their own Super Bowl and the NFC having their own.
Pranav 0:46
The NFL started in 1920, while the new coming AFL began in 1960. After the 1950 championship game, which was televised on NBC, and is also considered the greatest game ever played, there were many businessmen wanting to do business with the NFL.
Nitish 1:04
What happened when the businessmen approached the NFL?
Pranav 1:07
Well, the NFL basically tossed him out the door. This prompted Lamar Hunt, who was the son of an oil businessman to persuade seven businessmen from cities who wanted pro football to form a rival Football League to the NFL, which was already in prominence at this point.
Nitish 1:23
The AFL was formed, and was approved by Bert Bell, The then Commissioner for the NFL.
Pranav 1:30
The NFL, however, took over the cities of Dallas, one of the cities that the NFL wanted to have a team, as well as Minneapolis, which was the AFL's base of operations. But the AFL did get a base of operations in Oakland. The other cities they got teams were: in Los Angeles, Dallas, which would be moved to Kansas City by Hunt himself, New York, Buffalo, Boston, Denver, and Houston.
Nitish 1:56
The AFL was no disappointment. They had more aerial offenses, which focused on throwing the football, instead of the NFL, which focused on defense and running the football. yB 1962, the AFL managed to get 1 million fans to their games.
Pranav 2:14
In 1965, the AFL managed to get a contract with NBC to broadcast their games, and in the same year, Jets owner Sonny Werblin got the guy who would affect the merger as much as possible. This was Joe "Hollywood" Namath. He signed the biggest contract in pro football history.
Nitish 2:33
The NFL thought that the AFL only gets second-rate players and washed up NFL players. That was the complete opposite.
Pranav 2:40
Then the NFL did the unthinkable signing Pete Gogolak of the AFL's Buffalo Bills, who was the first player in history to have a soccer style kick. This prompted talks of a merger. So the merger agreement stated that the new league would be called the NFL and would split into two conferences, the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. So what would have happened if these leagues and the teams had never joined together?
Nitish 3:05
What is most likely to happen is that the NFL would slowly start to wear into the past. The NFL would still have lasted for a good amount of time, but as the AFL would have grown in popularity, with its fun and aesthetic way of playing the games, more fans would have gravitated toward the AFL instead of the NFL.
Pranav 3:26
Teams moved across to the AFL when the merger happened, like the Steelers and Browns. This would have never occurred.
Nitish 3:33
I mean the cities that actually had NFL teams already might have gotten a team in the AFL, which might have caused more turmoil and arguments. We have to understand that this industry is a business, so the AFL had to survive.
Pranav 3:47
That's a very good point. You have to take that into account.
Nitish 3:50
The AFL most definitely would have gained the upper hand because this is a business for the fans. If the fans want something, you have to give it to them. I think they would have wanted to see the AFL just because of the fact that they had this high powered offense instead of the NFL, with its defense and running. Could the NFL have changed the way they play the game?
Pranav 4:11
I mean look, the thing is that the NFL nowadays might look like a passing league, but if you go back to the 70s and 80s, without the West Coast offense, I don't think the league would have changed. Also, the rules back then were there to have more of a running style. Now the league is more about protecting the quarterback, so most offenses are centered around play action and the shotgun formation to throw the ball. Some passes are deep, sometimes intermediate will also sometimes short. I guess the AFL would have won the battle eventually.
Nitish 4:40
But then, what would have happened to the teams in the NFL?
Pranav 4:44
Well the teams we know today may not have been the same. With the league dissolving, so would the teams. This would give the opportunity to the AFL to create different teams in even more cities. So instead of the Steelers being called the Steelers, they could be known as the Pittsburgh Lions or something. the legacies of many teams good or bad, would have never beenthere.
Nitish 5:04
What about the famed West Coast offense?
Pranav 5:07
This is a very interesting point. Paul Brown was fired by Art Modell, the then owner of the Browns, so he needed a new team. He created the Bengals after the merger, so I think the Bengals would have been okay. Maybe Paul Brown would have hired Bill Walsh to be his successor instead of Bill Johnson, former defensive coordinator and head coach to the Bengals.
Nitish 5:25
Also, Walsh would have never gone to the 49ers, as they would have already dissolved, so he was stuck in Cincinnati. He may have won many championships in Cincinnati, and also gone on to being one of the greatest head coaches the world has ever seen, which he still is. Ken Anderson, who was the Bengals starting quarterback from 1971 to 86 would have been the face of the dynasty, leading the Bengals to many Super Bowls. Him paired with Dwight Clark and Jerry Rice would have been something of a fairy tale. We just don't know where Joe Montana would have gone instead of the 49ers.
Pranav 6:01
The last third round pick that the Seahawks gave away from the Tony Dorsett draft trade came to the 49ers, who drafted Joe Montana. This draft pick should have gone to another team, which might have been the Kansas City Chiefs, who managed to get Montana later in free agency in 1994. This would have been some Superbowl matchup that would have been awesome to watch. The whole story of the NFL would have been flipped around because of the fact that the teams in the NFL, such as the Steelers and 49ers, who both had dynasties, the Steelers in the 1970s in the 49ers in the 1980s, would have never happened. So many historical draft picks such as Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Ronnie Lott, and Jerry Rice would have not gone to the teams that they had impacted. I can't even imagine these historical things never happening.
Nitish 6:54
Honestly, it would not be called the Super Bowl. I think it would be called the AFL championship. I think the winning trophy would be called the Lamar Hunt trophy, so named after the founder. But the hardest question we have to answer is how the league is shaped. Will it have the two conferences, or is it going to be one conference grouped together and have two divisions, or is it a bit different?
Pranav 7:16
Over time the AFL may have adopted conferences in the same way the NFL had them. They could be a little bit different, but I think the general idea would be the same.
Nitish 7:27
Yeah, the league as a whole would be different. It is almost like completely changing reality from one decision not to merge the two leagues. Teams, rules, and dynasties could have never even occurred.
Pranav 7:39
Well, we'll leave you with that. That is it from us today and if you have any questions, tips, or requests, please feel free to put them in the comments. We would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for listening and have a good day.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
