Super implies that a regular version of something exists and that it is significantly better than that. Superman is super compared to a regular man. Super-size exists as an upgrade on the regular size. NFL Super Wild Card Weekend?
Well, the only difference between the normal and super versions is that we have two more games, usually featuring one or more teams that have no business in the postseason to begin with. Let’s just say what this really is. NFL Super Cash Grab Wild Card Weekend.
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Where did Super Wild Card Weekend come from? The owners insatiable need to grub for money saw them add an extra playoff spot. This was met with tepid indifference from fans who didn’t feel either was necessary or an improvement.
Of course, NFL owners aren’t ones to care about that. The extra inventory of games meant millions of extra dollars for their bank accounts. In order to get people excited for this nonsense, some marketing guru in the NFL offices dubbed it Super Wild Card Weekend.
The issue with this was that besides a Monday Night Football playoff game, there wasn’t much super about it. I mean, not only did you have the 7-9 Washington Football Team hosting a game, but the seventh seed in the NFC was the 8-8 Chicago Bears, who clinched their spot with a 35-16 loss against the Green Bay Packers and sneaking in via some tiebreakers.
If the NFL reverted back to the standard Wild Card Weekend name the following year, I think this would have been fine. We get it, the format is different. There is no need to constantly remind us of this fact. But no.
The NFL leaned into the Super Wild Card Weekend branding even more and the results were anything but Super. The two seventh seeded sides were the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. Neither should have been anywhere near the postseason.
The Eagles trailed 31-0 heading into the fourth quarter of their matchup with Tampa Bay while Pittsburgh was boatraced by Kansas City 42-21.
Last season, the NFC continued a trend of not having six teams worthy of the postseason, let alone seven. Tampa Bay won the NFC South with an 8-9 record while the Seattle Seahawks nabbed the final spot finishing 9-8. Both sides were promptly swept out of the playoffs.
And what makes Super Wild Card Weekend so super this season? More mediocre NFC teams? Oh wait, now we get a Peacock exclusive game. A postseason contest behind a streaming paywall. That’s certainly super…SUPER UNCOOL.
What gets me about the whole Super Wild Card Weekend branding is that there is no regular Wild Card Weekend. That’s never coming back. The NFL isn’t giving fans a super version of something. They’ve simply replaced it. Under this logic, the NFL should have called those replacement refs in 2012 super refs. Something being different doesn’t make it super. That’s something most people can agree upon.
Here’s the deal, if you like the new format of Wild Card Weekend, so be it. I wouldn’t say I like it when compared to the old format, but I can accept this is the new reality. But don’t shove it down my throat with some pointless branding.
Super Wild Card Weekend does not exist. Come on NFL, you spend millions of dollars on marketing and can’t see how absolutely ridiculous this is. And stop with the fucking Peacock game already. It’s the Playoffs, for crying out loud. Don’t piss away visibility so NBC can churn a few more subscribers for a month.
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