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Equilibrium


A couple of weeks ago, I was watching an NFL pregame show, and in between the usual banter about RG III, Tim Tebow, and the Eagles (just three things in the NFL people need to shut up about), there was a comment that caught my attention. One of the announcers noted that the AFC had only two teams with a record above .500, the Ravens and Texans, who coincidentally would play later that day. So at first glance, as he noted, it appears the 'balance of power' has shifted to the NFC, in part due to NFC teams playing in larger markets (which is also a ridiculous statement). 

Anyway, I'd like to fast forward two weeks and shit on this dude. As the standings sit today, both conferences have 7 teams with records above .500. So, clearly, fuck him. However, this announcer has two good excuses at this point. First, he made his comments during week 7, meaning most teams had played a total of 6 games, which despite being enough of a sample to judge the balance of power in the league, is also an even number. Why is that significant? Well, it leaves open the possibility for many teams to sit at 3-3. And sure enough, going into week 7, seven teams in the AFC had 3-3 records, including the entire East Division. And the second reason, well that's easy: there's no such thing as a down year for a Conference, in any sport, due to the Equilibrium of Sports. 

Well "what's the Equilibrium of Sports?", you might ask. The Equilibrium of Sports says that professional sports have a tendency to remain balanced, perhaps due to supernatural forces. Also, don't google that, because I made it up. Moving on. Let's take a look at this phenomena across all sports (by which I of course mean football, baseball, and basketball). 

Football:
Just because we're already in the mood, let's talk about football. So it may seem as though the NFC is the dominant conference at the moment. But let's not forget, there are several teams in the AFC worthy of challenging the most dominant of NFC teams, including, but not limited to: the Steelers, Ravens, Patriots, Broncos, and shockingly the Dolphins and Colts who still boast winning records. All of these teams are on the rise after shaky starts, while teams in the NFC, such as the Eagles, Saints, and Lions, all contenders last year, continue to slide. Further, the league's worst team, the Chiefs (sorry), are 1-2 in non-conference play; so they were able to dismantle an NFC team.

Baseball:
In recent years, it has been noted that the NL is much stronger league than the AL. And yes, if you use the All-Star game this year, or either of the past two World Series, as examples, it seems to be true. But the main reason for the AL's inconsistency is the level of play in their league. The NL is top heavy, with teams like the Giants, Cardinals, Reds, Nationals and Braves playing at a high level, while teams like the Astros and Cubs lose over 100 games. Meanwhile, in the AL, the league-worst Twins finished a full 10 games better than the Cubs. In addition, the AL West only has four teams, which means they play each other 19 times each season, and they typically beat up on each other, usually just resulting in no clear front runner. In fact, this season, the Rangers, Angels, and Mariners all finished in the top half of the wild card standings, while the A's won the division. Thus, the AL isn't worse than the NL, they just beat each other up to much to let someone make a strong run through the postseason..........and they don't make their pitchers bat.....

Basketball:
Whereas the other two sports discussed may have less discussed issues of balance, the NBA continuously comes under fire for the shifts in power that occur over time. But, once more, I can show how stupid this conversation is. The first time that I witnessed this issue in the NBA was when the Boston Celtics formed their Big 3 before the 2007 season. With Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett leaving small market Western Conference teams for the Eastern basketball haven of Boston, it seemed there was going to be severe dip in performance in the West. After all, the East did boast LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, and this newly formed monster in Boston. And while the Celtics would win a championship in 2008, and are still regarded as a force in the NBA, the Equilibrium prevented them from developing any sort of momentum in the East. In fact, despite the Heat wining the championship this year, the West won all three championships between 2009-2011. 

So as the Lakers have once again developed an All-Star lineup this year, with the addition of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, I urge you not to be too quick to worry that the power has shifted to the West. The Heat still boast one of the most powerful lineups in the league, the Nets have restocked along with the Knicks, and teams like Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago and Indiana, all will look to disprove the doubters this season.

Anyway, there is a supernatural force at work here. There's just too many dominant teams and players in professional sports for one entire conference or league to ever shift the balance of power. Feel free to reference this in your conversations, just give me credit, assholes.

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