November 27, 2020 - Oakland, CA, USA - Oakland Raiders fans in The Black Hole section of the stadium are ready for the team’s game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. The Raiders defeated the Panthers 35-32 (Photo by Jeff Siner/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire)
I am not watching the AFC Championship Game.
Are you?
If you said yes then I have to ask “why?”
Maybe it is because you love football like me and you want to see the last two teams in the American Football Conference duke it out for the right to go to Super Bowl LI.
Maybe you are saying yes because you love to watch to of the best franchise quarterbacks in professional football duke it out. Personally, I can’t blame you. Ben Roethisberger and Tom Brady are two of the best ever and the latter will have a bust in Canton someday.
But I just can’t stand it anymore Raiders fans.
The NFL prides itself on parity but face it, the AFC has not seen much parity since 2001. In fact, in the last 16 Super Bowls only five quarterbacks from the American Football Conference have represented the AFC on Super Sunday. That’s right….FIVE GUYS and I am not talking about the burger chain.
Can you name them?
The quarterbacks are: Tom Brady (6 times), Ben Roethlisberger (3 times), Payton Manning (4 times), Joe Flacco (1 time) and Rich Gannon (1 time). For 13 of the past 14 seasons and 14 of the past 16, either Brady, Roethlisberger or Peyton Manning has been the quarterback of the AFC Champion. Both men are part of a run that is unprecedented in Super Bowl history and it clearly explains why so many teams are desperate to find their franchise quarterback. If you ignore Joe Flacco’s remarkable Super Bowl in in 2012 and Rich Gannon’s trip to Super Bowl XVIII in 2002, the AFC has been all about Manning, Brady and Roethlisberger.
The bigger question is: when will it all end? I don’t have an answer for anyone. Tom Brady seems to have tapped the fountain of youth at age 40 and he doesn’t look like he is slowing down although he did take some shots versus Houston last weekend. Roethlisberger will turn 35 this March but he still looks like he is in good shape and likely will last a few more years.
Despite my respect for their remarkable work and dominance if you aren’t a fan of the Colts, Broncos, Patriots or Steelers you are likely sick of this. Your tired of these guys.
This Sunday nothing will change because it will be either Tom Brady or Ben Roethlisberger going to Super Bowl LI and personally that makes the game completely boring to me.
There is some hope that neither will be crowned Super Bowl Champion. Atlanta looks like a hot team to me and Aaron Rodgers is also a reliable quarterback. Rodgers defeated Roethlisberger in Super Bowl XLV. However, the three-headed monster of Payton, Brady and “Big Ben” have gone 8-5 in their 13 Super Bowls.
Just a quick list of the last 16 years for your enjoyment:
2001: Tom Brady
2002: Rich Gannon
2003: Tom Brady
2004: Tom Brady
2005: Ben Roethlisberger
2006: Payton Manning
2007: Tom Brady
2008: Ben Roethlisberger
2009: Payton Manning
2010: Ben Roethlisberger
2011: Tom Brady
2012: Joe Flacco
2013: Payton Manning
2014: Tom Brady
2015: Payton Manning
2016: Ben Roethisberger OR Tom Brady
Three quarterbacks and four teams dominating 14 of the last 16 years is not parity folks, it’s really annoying.
And that is why I am not wasting my time watching the 2017 AFC Championship Game.
