As the Super Bowl approaches, I’m hearing a lot of talk centering around the question of which franchise is the NFL’s greatest. In some cases it takes the form of “who is really America’s team?” Whatever the heck that gets you. Other times, as with countless spirited “debates” on sports talk radio’s arguing with idiots shows, the question is a more germane “who is the greatest franchise in NFL history?” Which is actually an interesting enough topic, and one that bubbles up from time to time. This year I think we’re hearing more of it because the Super Bowl features two of the primary candidates, Green Bay and Pittsburgh, and they’re playing in the home stadium of a popular third candidate, the Dallas Cowboys.
Like a lot of sports-related subjects, this is one that generates strongly held, if only marginally informed opinions. For instance, I caught a few minutes of a radio show over the weekend where Mel Kiper was on the mic, and one of his callers was arguing that the Cowboys are the greatest franchise in NFL history because – and I’m just telling you what he said here – they made the Redskins and Packers relevant. I don’t know exactly what that means, to be honest. It can’t be about winning, because Green Bay and the Boston/Washington franchises combined to win eight NFL championships before the Cowboys were even founded. So maybe he was trying to make a point about TV ratings. Or something. The guy didn’t say what he does for a living, but I don’t think he’s a rocket surgeon.
America’s Team
If his “relevance” argument was trying to suggest that greatness has to do with ratings or revenue, I’d respond that most savvy fans are more concerned about the best football team, not the best marketing department. This, of course, circles back around to the “America’s Team” question, which tends to focus on Dallas, Pittsburgh and Green Bay. (There may be somebody out there who thinks that the Cardinals are America’s Team, but I haven’t run across them yet.)
So, what makes a franchise “America’s Team”? I think there are generally three criteria. You may be America’s Team if, everywhere you go in the US, there are bars where people gather to watch the games on Sunday, where there are lots of people sporting your logo merchandise, and where your games, when televised, draw great ratings. In other words, it’s about how many fans you have dispersed over the widest area. In the case of Dallas, their claim results from successful marketing. In the case of the Packers and Steelers it’s about being located in places where everybody wants to move somewhere else. That isn’t snark, either. Do you have any idea how many people I know here in Colorado who are from Wisconsin and western PA? Lots. Lots and lots. I probably know more Pennsylvanians here than I do native Coloradans and they love their Steelers.
If you follow one of America’s Teams, good for you, but it’s kinda like when Bobby “The Brain” Heenan decreed that Haku was the King of the WWF. It’s a pretty crown and all, but it didn’t actually have anything to do with winning.
Just saying.
Way Back When They Invented Football in the 1960s
The problem with these conversations, though, is that many of the most passionate participants believe the NFL was founded in 1966-67. That’s the season the Super Bowl was first played, and bajillions of fans like to base their arguments on criteria like “who won the most Super Bowls?” Mel Kiper’s caller, noted above, is a related species who thinks football began when the Dallas Cowboys were formed in 1960. If the Vikings weren’t 0-4 in Super Bowls we’d probably hear the same kind of silliness out of them.
Sadly, this kind of thinking is common, and it leads people to argue that the Steelers are the best ever because they have more Super Bowl wins than anybody else. There’s no doubt that Pittsburgh is a great and successful franchise, but there’s a difference between “history” and “recent history.” The Steelers were founded in 1933 and didn’t win their first title for 45 years. That kind of futility has to factor into our thinking, right? I mean, if the Clippers win the next three NBA titles, we’re not going to rename the trophy for Donald Sterling, are we?
The thing to understand, folks, is that NFL has been around since 1920, not 1966, and if we’re going to have opinions on the greatest franchise ever, we need to pay attention to the early days, too. With this in mind, let’s have a look at how many championships the top teams have won. This list includes Super Bowl wins from 1966 to the present and NFL championships from 1920-1965.
- Packers: 12
- Bears: 8
- Giants: 8
- Steelers: 6
- Redskins: 5
- Cowboys: 5
- 49ers: 5
- Lions: 4
- Browns: 4
- Colts: 4
- Eagles: 3
- Rams: 3
- Patriots: 3
- Raiders: 3
- Cardinals: 2
- Broncos: 2
- Dolphins: 2
- Chiefs: 1
- Jets: 1
- Ravens: 1
- Buccaneers: 1
- Saints: 1
Hmmm. Check that. The Pack has twice as many trophies as Pittsburgh. Four franchises have more than Dallas, which is tied with Boston/Washington.
The Verdict
If you like, feel free to argue for criteria other than championships. Wins matter, winning percentage, playoff appearances, etc. In the end, though, this is professional football, and if you didn’t win it all you’re just jockeying for position among the also-rans. First is first and second is King of the Losers, right?
By the ultimate standard – filling trophy cases – not only is Green Bay the greatest franchise of all time, it looks like it’s going to be a minimum of five or six years before there’s even a potential argument to had. But those of you who value lesser metrics and feel strongly about the importance of marketing, feel free to light up the switchboards, yo. Where would sports talk radio be without your … passion?
Categories: Sports
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 
What no AFL love? Before the merger.
Oilers 2
Bills 2
Chargers 1
Texans 1
If I do that I have to include the AAFC. If I do that, then I have to name the Cleveland Browns the greatest franchise in history.
What I can’t wait for is when you do this for baseball and you have to declare the Yankees America’s Team.
Given the ridiculous dispersal of Yanks fans I’d probably have no choice. There’s no argument that they’re the greatest franchise in baseball history, although they can still bite me. Go Sox!
I agree with Darrell on this one. The NFL recognized the AAFC and AFL as equals when they merged, so they should count. Don’t worry, the Browns only jump into a tie with the Giants and Bears.
While I generally agree with you about the hardware, some emphasis should be placed on overall winning percentage. For example, the Florida Marlins would be one of the top baseball teams of the past 20 years if you look just at championships. However, they’re under .500 as a franchise. I wouldn’t exactly call that successful.
Okay. If I buy D and Tom’s arguments, then let’s add the AAFC and pre-Super Bowl AFL champs to the mix: Oilers 2, Bills 2, Chargers 1, Texans/Chiefs 1, Browns 4. The results now look like this:
Packers: 12
Bears: 8
Giants: 8
Browns: 8
Steelers: 6
Redskins: 5
Cowboys: 5
49ers: 5
Lions: 4
Colts: 4
Eagles: 3
Rams: 3
Patriots: 3
Raiders: 3
Cardinals: 2
Broncos: 2
Dolphins: 2
Oilers: 2
Buffalo: 2
Texans/Chiefs: 2
Chargers: 1
Jets: 1
Ravens: 1
Buccaneers: 1
Saints: 1
I just like seeing the Bills in there!
I know. That was obviously your only real motivation.
Disclaimer: my favorite team is Cleveland and anyone who plays Pittsburgh or Denver (sorry, Sam).
THAT BEING SAID, I agree completely about the Packers.
Football, at its best, is a blue collar sport. I mean TRULY at its best. It’s played best by kids from working class families, whether they play for their local public school or get recruited by a private school that their families could otherwise never afford.
The Packers are owned by their constituents, the citizens of Green Bay. The Steelers? The property of the Rooney family. The Rooneys are NOT blue collar. But the funny thing is the fans identify them as such. The blue collar workers who identify with the Steelers: the coal miners, the cafeteria workers, the housewives, the factory workers, the truck drivers, the steel workers and those are just MY relatives.
Look, I get it, the NFL (and all of pro sports) are BIG business. But I like it when it gets a little closer to the people who support it.
@ Sam: PLEASE, let’s include the AAFC. G’head, I dare you. I double dawg dare you.
Imagine that. A Browns fan with Bronco issues. Hee hee hee. THE DRIVE! THE FUMBLE!
Hee hee hee hee hee…..
Oh? And on ANY list how close does Denver get to Cleveland?
True, we have long memories. Fortunately.
So are YOU cheering for Pittsburgh?
No. I was rooting for somebody to kill Rapelisberger.
Well, so was I. Close enough.
Mr. Smith. Nice article. I agree completely that the Packers are the greatest franchise in NFL history (and for the record, I’m a Browns fan). However, I feel there are some errors in your tabulation of NFL championships.
First of all, you were correct to NOT include AFL and AAFC champions in the list. They were not members of the NFL and their championships (while legitimate for their particular league), cannot be included. Thus, the Jets and Chiefs have NO NFL championships and should not be included on your list. The NFL champions in the 68/69 and 69/70 seasons were the Colts and Vikings. Thus, the Colts actually have 5 NFL championships and the Vikings 1. Because those two teams went on to lose in an exhibition “Super Bowl” game, does not negate their NFL championship (nor does it give the NFL championship to the winners of those games).
Remember, the first four Super Bowls were the only TRUE bowl games, where the champion of one league plays the champion of another league. After the merger of the NFL and AFL for the 70/71 season, they simply decided to continue with the “Super Bowl” name for the NFL championship game. You could rightly state that only six teams have ever appeared in a true “Super Bowl” game and only three times have actually won a true “Super Bowl” game. Also, the only NFL team to ever win a true “Super Bowl” game is the Packers. Everything else is just NFL championship games.
I agree with most of what you say and I am admittedly a Cowboy Fan since 1976. The only problem I have with comparing the championships pre-Super Bowl era is that you were not dealing with near as many teams.
Hell, since we’re including AFL and AAFC championships, let’s stick the USFL, the XFL, and the UFL in this:
Packers: 12
Bears: 8
Giants: 8
Browns: 8
Steelers: 6
Redskins: 5
Cowboys: 5
49ers: 5
Lions: 4
Colts: 4
Eagles: 3
Rams: 3
Patriots: 3
Raiders: 3
Cardinals: 2
Broncos: 2
Dolphins: 2
Oilers: 2
Baltimore/Philadelpia Stars: 2
Buffalo: 2
Texans/Chiefs: 2
Las Vegas Locomotives:2
Chargers: 1
Jets: 1
Ravens: 1
Buccaneers: 1
Saints: 1
Los Angeles Xtreme: 1
Michigan Panthers: 1
Virginia Destroyers:1