Sign of the Times: How a Short Attention Span Makes Fans Forget the Past

In this day and age, it's a sad state of affairs, when the past is simply forgotten.

A strong case in point could be made in the National Football League, which has been around since 1920 (previously, it was the APFA).

In recent terms, some fans will claim that their team is the best ever, but beyond 10 years, they fall by the wayside. Take the Patriots, who have been mentioned several times, as the best team ever.

If you wanted to base it off the here and now logic, it might work. Going 16-0, in the regular season, impressive. No other team has finished the regular season with 16 wins.

Of course, the Dolphins in 1972 didn't really have a choice, either....the schedule they faced, was only 14 games long.

Also, to mention the Patriots as the best team ever, a lot of the fans fail the history test.

Who is Steve Grogan? Tony Eason? Vito "Babe" Parilli?

A lot of these names, or episodes in their past, are filed away, kinda like parking violations....you did it, but it doesn't seem important.

At the same time, some fans will linger in the past, with a proud history, strong in the faith that their club's memory will never die.

The Raiders, the faithful Nation, share this, simply because it's ingrained into every family member. Names like Tom Flores, Ken Stabler, Jack Tatum, Dave Casper, Cliff Branch, etc, can be stated and then highlighted by anyone in the family as if they were Presidents from our school days.

The Raiders, to that end, have several things going for their history. They are the only club, to be in Super Bowls in four decades. They were the first club to win the Super Bowl from the Wild Card spot. And from 1965-1980, they were above .500 in every season.

Time, like usual, clouds most people's history though.

A lot of fans will say, "Ah, the Raiders are the worst in the NFL.” Really? For a club with 400 wins, a lot of people don't realize, that's more than the Patriots, Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, and the NFC/NFL counterpart, Cowboys, have only 14 more wins.

The usual defense, on this, is: what have you done recently? Sure, every team has tough times. The last five years, the Raiders have been on a downturn. Did you know that the Patriots from 1989 to 1993 managed only 19 wins? They had two seasons, one with one win, and one with two wins.

But yes, that's all history.

Another club, buried in the past, is the Dolphins. Yep, the season of perfection, many people remember the 1972 Dolphins, for this. They might also remember the 1973 season for winning back-to-back Super Bowls. However, most people who remember it also forget that the Dolphins didn't win another Super Bowl, losing the next two they played in.

Don't get me wrong, they played some really great seasons. But when it came to the playoffs...the wheels would come off.

Some clubs, obviously, deny the past, so it'll make more recent events seem better. The Bucs, for example, won a Super Bowl in 2002. However, their overall record of 196-303-1 makes it look more like a fluke than a solid victory.

This was also the club that set the two records for futile effort: 0-14 in a single year, and 26 straight losses.

I know some people like to crunch numbers, push records, and claim religiously that they are perfect.

However, take a step back and look over your entire team's history and ask yourself, how great is this team and what's the entire picture look like?

I'm a Raiders fan and I know they have had bad years. But then, I also know they have three rings that testify to their history.

How's your history?

PS: For the haters, I know some clubs have been around longer, have had more Super Bowl wins, and have a better track record. I can applaud that. But as well, I'll respect true fans, who can remember the past…and enjoy it.