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This past NFL season there was a perfect cycle where every team was both transitively better and worse than every other team: http://i.imgur.com/GRC6lT1.png htt
by patmcguire 12y ago
This past NFL season there was a perfect cycle where every team was both transitively better and worse than every other team: http://i.imgur.com/GRC6lT1.png http://i.imgur.com/GRC6lT1.png
- madcaptenor 12y agoIt's also happened in 2013 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2013/11/26/nfls-circle-of-parity-in-one-neat-graphic-2013-edition/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2013/11/26...) and 2012 (http://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/131qfn/parity_2012_the_circle_of_life_in_the_nfl/ http://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/131qfn/parity_2012_the_...) and 2011 (http://www.sportsgrid.com/nfl/nfl-parity-chart-2011/ http://www.sportsgrid.com/nfl/nfl-parity-chart-2011/) and 2010 (http://www.sportsgrid.com/nfl/nfl-parity-photo/ http://www.sportsgrid.com/nfl/nfl-parity-photo/) and 2009 (http://mathfridge.blogspot.com/2010/11/nfl-2009-parity-wheel.html http://mathfridge.blogspot.com/2010/11/nfl-2009-parity-wheel...). In 2007 the Patriots were undefeated, and in 2008 the Lions were winless; I can't find any instances of this concept in 2006 or before. But I suspect that this perfect cycle has a very good chance of happening if there is no undefeated or winless team.
- patmcguire 12y agoI think it's more common now, with the switch from five-team divisions to four-team ones. More distributed schedules, something like that, although I don't have the mathematical knowledge to prove that.