The CRAZIEST DRAMA in NFC Central HISTORY

[@zagnorch1336]

The real capper to this story was that the Bucs went on to win it all during the first post-realignment season. And during that season, they faced all four of their former NFC central opponents... and won all four games. Top it off with a Super Bowl win against the head coach's former team that he'd coached just the year before, and you've got the NFL's greatest vengeance tour since the 1981 San Francisco 49ers.

[@someperson3883]

Both times the Bucs won the Super Bowl the NFC South played the NFC North

[@zagnorch1336]

@@someperson3883 Let's see... eighteen years between Superb Owl titles... the entire NFC South plays the entire NFC North every three years... eighteen is divisible by three... okay, yeah, that tracks.

[@981zASDF]

Vengeance? More like theater lol

[@zagnorch1336]

@@981zASDF Theater of VENGEANCE!!! -as spoken in the voice of the late movie trailer narrator guy Don LaFontaine. Or, more apropos, the voice of John Facenda.

[@chad3452]

The BUCS killed tv ratings in the central for decades, they were in florida so it was an expensive trip for owners, the BUCS sucked shit untill they got out the NFC central

[@nasetvideos]

In all my years, I never heard this story....campaigning the league to get you out of a division. Wow, just wow. This is an incredible story. Packers, Bears, Lions, and Vikings uniting together towards realignment--Unreal. This was great reporting. Nice job!

[@sethmaki1333]

Well, in fairness, the Bucs had been competing with Detroit for the cellar for 30 years. They had to go. The Motor City Kitties wanted the basement all to themselves.

[@patrickstogsdill74]

@@sethmaki1333 omg 😆

[@jonathanmartin8716]

@@sethmaki1333 That's funny! XD But at least they were close enough to drive to. :P

[@somebodysthrowaway]

NFC North is probably my favorite division in the NFL a close 2nd is AFC North. All make sense geographically. Especially alot of Midwest families stay relatively close. (I have family in Ill, MN, MI, and Greenbay) growing up when we would visit we would go to an nfl football game. Fun times!

[@somebodysthrowaway]

If there ever was another realignment, it should be used to clean up the eastern teams. And make a rule where there is at least one legacy rival game. (Keep the cowboys- Washington and others)

[@Need4Speed_91]

It IS ironic how the Packers, Bears, Vikings and Lions all got their wish when the 2002 realignment took place; yet since then the Buccaneers would go on to win more SB’s (37 and 55) than the four NFC North teams combined (the Packers winning SB 45).

[@andrewwinslow9315]

they lucked into Tom Brady. 37 is impressive, but 55 is a super team that was set up because Brady wants to keep more of the money he makes. it's not the same

[@marcus813]

Packers aside, the members of the newly created NFC North have one other Super Bowl appearance since the 2002 realignment, which was the Bears' loss to the Colts in Super Bowl XLI in Miami Gardens, Fla. Thinking about that now as a longtime Bucs fan makes me LMAO!

[@matthewdaley746]

@andrewwinslow9315 Don't worry, his, "magic," being, ultimately, ineffective against the Rams, and, his, totally, decimated, O-Line, meant, that, SB, 55, was, very, likely, a, one-off.

[@justinburton918]

That maybe different had they had to make it out of our division in 02/03 when they won the first superbowl off the backs of their defense. Which was one of the best defenses ever.

[@matthewdaley746]

@justinburton918 Didn't hurt that the Raiders, never, thought that it, "might," be, somewhat, prudent, to alter anything about their team, as they, were, facing their previous coach.

[@reidcraig3739]

Speaking of divisions, I recommend doing a video about the 2010 Oakland Raiders, they are the only NFL team as of today to ever sweep their division and still did not make the playoffs. They went 6-0 against their AFC West rivals, and were 8-8 overall, their other 2 wins coincidentally enough were against the Seahawks (former AFC West rival) and the Rams (former LA counterpart when both were in LA at the same time).

[@zagnorch1336]

Ah yes, the same conference, division, and season that yielded a Chargers squad that quite possibly was the greatest team to not even make the playoffs, at least according to the Secret Base's Dorktown boys. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3KvZotpibd0aKM

[@reidcraig3739]

@@zagnorch1336 I will say both AFC and NFC playoff races were tight up until that last day of the season. It reminded me of 2011 MLB season when they were trying to determine to would win the wildcard race going into game 162. Thankfully, my red birds lucked out on that and won the World Series that year

[@MarloSoBalJr]

@@reidcraig3739 You can think Nelson Cruz for bottling an easy routine flyball

[@reidcraig3739]

@@MarloSoBalJr ngl, I was at Game 6 and there was a rangers fan 2 rows in front of me and when freese hit that triple, he said almost every cuss word in the book. He did the same thing on the home run.

[@ericthomas917]

Or how about the 2010 Chargers who was #1 in offense and defense and still missed the playoffs

[@williamhowe1]

Not to mention Hugh Culverhouse was a abysmal owner that made William Clay Ford look competent.

[@JuicyPlayer]

And Dan Synder , Hugh should be in a hall of shame all by himself because of how bad he ran the Bucs

[@johnmanier7968]

Ironically, the NFC Central was the only division from 1970-1976 without a warm weather team, and the original 4 teams were happy to have Tampa join them at first. That became far less an issue when Minnesota joined Detroit as a dome team-which was just before the Buccaneers began to aggressively suck.

[@dvferyance]

And now it looks like the Bears will soon be joining them. Leaving the Packers as the only team to play outside in the NFC north.

[@tomcollins5112]

It helped the Buccaneers to play in the NFC Central, because of all the Midwestern retirees living in Tampa and football fans in the north wanting to make a trip south during the winter. It was all about selling game tickets.

[@lrkcm373]

My parents always told me that us Packer fans in Wisconsin really enjoyed playing the Bucs. If we got to play them in an away game later in the year, it was essentially a vacation. Getting to leave the frozen Wisconsin climate for Tampa, getting to see the Packers get an easy win, was always a good time.

[@Marcuswelby-nx2te]

I thought that to about going to Florida every year.Why would they want to give that up.bears packers drew a lot of fans as well as Minnesota and Detroit not as much as the first two

[@scott6828]

Wow...In my entire life as a hard-core football fan I never knew NFL teams split gate receipts!! While I was aware some college teams do a variation of this I never thought NFL teams did.I swear this kid is a wealth of obscure football facts.🤣

[@jamesmelcher9355]

For as long as the NFL has had conferences, and later divisions, the Bears, Packers, Lions and Vikings have NEVER been in different divisions. As long as they have existed, they’ve always been togetherAnd from 1967, when the NFL created four divisions with four teams, those four were the ONLY teams in that division until TB joined the NFC. So, they were very well established as a set division. When TB came to the NFC (they and Seattle played their first season in the AFC and NFC respectively, and then flipped). you had three choices as to where to put them: 1. The West had only 4 teams, and you could put them there. NO and ATL were already there. 2. You could put them in the Central, where they really did not fit, or 3. Since the East had 5 teams, you’d have to move one to open a spot for TB there. Dallas already had a big rivalry with Washington and would have resisted moving to the west. You could have moved St. Louis to the Central and put TB in the East, though the Cardinals had always been with the eastern teams going back to when they were still in Chicago. The odd NFC alignment coming out made an easy solution difficult to get.

[@psychopathyoutubeemployees280]

The Buccaneers didn't want the 49ers and Rams as division rivals, plus the Falcons or Saints would have used that opportunity to move to the Central 100% guaranteed. And Food-Under-Car-Keys St. Louis and Dallas! The only reason they were in the East is because Bidwell and Schramm didn't have the balls to play in a division with the Rams and 49ers (nobody east of El Paso wanted two California teams as division rivals)!

[@LogoAttitude]

And every NFC North team save the Packers is in the same market as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Wisconsin is also a member, but they are located in Madison, not Green Bay.

[@andrewschultz6608]

"Merchandise at JC Penney" 3:55. Ah, sometimes it's the small retro stuff that really gets you! I was always confused why Tampa wound up in the Central, but I figured there was no changing it, just as there was no changing Atlanta being in the NL West.

[@mike4409]

I love that the Lions GM was the one leading the charge to get a team booted from the division for being bad.

[@youknowimright.3137]

Irony

[@scottb3034]

they wanted to feel special and be the only team getting spanked every year by the division.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

The Lions had some decent teams in the 90's. I'd say the 90's Bears were as bad, or maybe even worse, than the 90's Lions.

[@animenopaawaa]

Those were news that I never have heard of before, and I became a fan of the sport since the early 90s as a kid. The only news I ever heard from sports were scores and highlights, but nothing beyond like this or trades or reports or scandals or such. Great job and effort. P.S.: Although the former NFC Central teams got their wish when the 2002 realignment was effect (with Seattle leaving the AFC to the NFC, Arizona from the NFC East to the NFC West, Indianapolis from the AFC East with Jacksonville and Tennessee from the AFC Central to the AFC South (plus expansion team Houston), and Carolina, Atlanta and New Orleans from the NFC West with Tampa Bay from the NFC Central to the NFC South), the Bucs were the real winners there; because on that season, they won the Super Bowl (1st time ever) while the rest of the other 4 teams (except the Packers, who won their division but lost in JUST the first round in upset fashion) didn't even qualify for the playoffs.

[@marcus813]

I knew the Bucs' attendance was beyond sparse during that period (I grew up in Tampa and somehow remained a fan despite being a kid back then), but I didn't know about the visitor share being affected. That's another reason why I'm relieved that Hugh Culverhouse is no longer around. He ran the Bucs into the ground and hurt more than just his own club. The Glazer family never had this problem with the Bucs. I guess the clubs that now make up the NFC North (neé 2002) got their wish (How were the Lions talking about how bad a franchise was, though?), but they might want the Bucs with them now (as of 2002)! The Bucs have as many Super Bowl wins as the entire NFC North has had Super Bowl APPEARANCES (Green Bay's win and Chicago's loss) since the massive realignment. LMAO

[@darreljones8645]

The Lions were actually a better team in the 1990's than they are today, thanks in part to Barry Sanders. They even played Washington in the 1993 NFC Championship Game after scoring the franchise's only playoff win to date since the NFL-AFL merger of the early 1970's.

[@chriskay1449]

In 1994, the Lions were in the Barry Sanders era and were on a run of several consecutive years in the playoffs. Also in 1994, all 4 of those NFC Central teams made the playoffs. The Bucs were the only team in the entire division with a losing record.

[@chriskay1449]

@@darreljones8645 Also in 1994, the Bucs were the only team with a losing record and the only team in the entire division not to make the playoffs. The Packers played the Lions while the VIkings played the Bears in the Wild Card round.

[@marcus813]

@@darreljones8645 That was in the '91 season (January 1992).

[@SalmanAli-hn2kt]

@@darreljones8645 1991 not 93

[@big8dog887]

6:14 "The Tampa Bay Buccaneers absolutely sucked." 7:17 "The rest of the NFC Central played a very nice 69 games against the Buccaneers." 7:29 "Every team was getting their licks in on the Bucs." Hmm...

[@lloydmarshalljr1951]

(Insert some George Carlin-like joke here)

[@DeepSubmerge]

Wow never heard this story before, that’s amazing. Crazy to think too that since they got their wish, the Bucs would win 2 Super Bowls while the Lions would have an 0-16 season. Just goes to show what a good owner can do for a team.

[@anthonyjkenn6319]

The delicious irony is that the Bucs would ultimately end up joining the Saints, Falcons and Panthers in the formation of the NFC South. Although, some folks would prefer another interconference shift, with the Panthers going to the NFC East and the Cowboys going to the NFC South. Screw historic rivalries; this makes much more geographic sense.

[@tygrkhat4087]

Move Baltimore to the AFC East, Miami to the AFC South and Indianapolis to the AFC North.

[@joemckim1183]

The Cowboys pretty much demand to be in a division with all of the big east coast markets though.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

@@tygrkhat4087 Everyone has been saying this but the Ravens' historical significance with the Steelers and Browns (especially) are too rooted to even bother with a division realignment Though, I would say swap the Dolphins and Colts

[@ericthomas917]

The Cowboys will never want to be out of the NFC East. Being in the division with those large markets is part of what made the Cowboys America's team.

[@tygrkhat4087]

@@MarloSoBalJr Oh, I agree. The rivalry between all the teams in the AFC East also won't allow it. But, really, geography is not the NFL's strong suit.

[@miked31784]

Thanks to the realignment of 2002, the Buccaneers are no longer in the same division with the Packers, Vikings, Bears and Lions.

[@andrejg4136]

Not only did it benefit the old NFC Central Teams, now the NFC North. But the now NFC South took on the refugees from the old NFC West.

[@marcus813]

The "old" NFC West clubs that were east of the Mississippi River finally got into a division that made geographic sense.

[@animenopaawaa]

@@andrejg4136 That's so true. Talk about a blessing in disguise for that division to exist

[@johnwiesner9590]

@@andrejg4136 Since the 2002 realignment, all four of the south teams have been to at least one Super Bowl, with a 3-3 record. Only twice a north team made it, going 1-1.

[@carloscolon3331]

The bucs went from stinking the joint out to Super Bowl champions

[@westholmes2001]

Future WCW and WWE Champion Bill Goldberg (#71 for the Falcons) can be seen at the 11:06 mark of this video.

[@JFrohlichMusic]

The Bucs have won the NFC North more recently than the Lions. The Bucs haven't been in the NFC North for 21 years...

[@matthewdaley746]

They've, also, won, more, SBs, (two), than, the, Lions, have, won, Playoff, Games, (one).

[@marcus813]

Its predecessor, the NFC Central, in '99, yeah. I can't believe the Lions, who weren't much better from the early '80s through the mid-'90s than the Bucs were, had anything to say! LOL

[@matthewdaley746]

@@marcus813 They, seriously, literally, don't.

[@KN_1]

The Bucs won at Lambeau en route to their second Super Bowl. Yes, Brady and a reduced crowd, but there was a time when the Bucs winning a postseason game in Green Bay was unthinkable.

[@samuraibeastwarrior2886]

They had Tom Brady what you expect

[@chrisguardiano6143]

To make the Buc's season ticket situation in 1994 that much worse, the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL (which were still relatively new at the time) had more season ticket holders than them. It should be pointed out that the Lightning were playing at Tropicana Field (before the Rays moved there in 1998) at the time while Amalie Arena was being built and Tropicana Field sat well over 20,000 for hockey. In fact in 1996 the Lightning set the largest attendance for a playoff game in NHL history when 28,183 showed up.

[@michaeljones155]

Division alignment was crazy in the 1990s, especially in the NFC. Arizona and Dallas in the NFC East, yet Atlanta and Carolina in the NFC West. Bucs didn't belong in the NFC Central geographically, but it made more sense than other teams. AFC was much better, though Indianapolis was in the East, while Baltimore and Jacksonville were in the Central. Also, in 1976, the Bucs were in the AFC West, which made no sense at all, but in 1977 they switched the 2 new teams, the Bucs and the Seahawks, between conferences so the Bucs were now in the NFC. NFL divisions, while having a geographic direction in their names, just weren't based on geography it seemed. They just threw the teams into whatever division had an open slot.

[@TimmyTickle]

There were plans for a realignment in 1995 (to accommodate the Panthers and Jaguars) which would have involved 5 or 6 teams moving divisions, but the plan was torpedoed when Bill Bidwill refused to move the Cardinals out of the NFC East

[@M.Bisðn]

@@TimmyTickle Probably because he still wanted the Cardinals playing against teams in that division that had larger markets.

[@augustuscaesar9995]

I don't understand how the Bucs ended up in the NFC Central. The NFC West, as it stood in 1977, would have been better for Tampa Bay as Atlanta and New Orleans were already in the division and they were relatively close to Tampa. Also, Indianapolis' position in the old AFC East actually makes sense when realizing that the Colts were in Baltimore when that division was first created

[@TheSSUltimateGoku]

The NFL number one criteria’s is the rivalries and the descendent AFL and NFL teams be properly in their NFC and AFC conferences. Those are the first three criteria’s before you get into the geographic criteria. So while geographic is important it’s not the most important thing for the NFL.

[@TheSSUltimateGoku]

@@augustuscaesar9995 Because you’re looking at it as geographically being the number one criteria for the NFL’s divisions and it isn’t. Their main criteria is to preserve the rivalries and have descendent AFL and NFL teams be in the NFC and AFC conferences. In the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts case they were originally an NFL team that took the $3 million to move to the AFC conference since the NFL didn’t have as many teams when the merger happened in 1970. That’s why they’re in the AFC they were put in the AFC East division because they needed a 5th team there at the time however that being said the four other teams in the AFC East division were original AFL teams that had more priority to be in the division together as rivals. That’s why the Colts were kicked out for the AFC south division. Bills, Jets, Dolphins, and Patriots were all original AFL teams.

[@StedmanFoster]

Hey you should make a video of when the Bears, Packers, Vikings and Lions all made the playoffs in 1994.

[@norcaltimcaldwell3325]

I gotta hear this! I don’t understand why any team would WANT a bad team to leave their division, when everybody knows winning your division is goal #1

[@nelroy78]

They could’ve put the Cardinals in the NFC West, the Bucs in the NFC East and the Panthers in the NFC Central, but yeah, it was best to leave it alone. Pretty funny that the Bucs got good 5 years later and won a Super Bowl just after they left the division and as that guy said, beat all 4 former divisional opponents.

[@LazyCat010]

"The other four teams combined" = The Green Bay Packers 🤣

[@psychopathyoutubeemployees280]

Once again, if Tex Schramm (Cowboys GM at the time) did what was best for the league (instead of his team and Bill Bidwell), then it would have been, *NFC East* N.Y. Giants Philadelphia Washington Atlanta Tampa Bay *NFC Central* Detroit Green Bay Chicago Minnesota New Orleans *NFC West* Dallas St. Louis/Arizona Los Angeles San Francisco Sadly, the NFL's stupidity in adding two Leastern Time Zone teams would have resulted in Minnesota or (more likelier) New Orleans playing in the West, Atlanta in the Central, and Charlotte in the East. And don't get me started with the AFC since 1984-85!

[@Kashdro17]

If you learned anything about football college or professional, Money usually trumps logic. Cowboys make perfect sense being in the west due to being west of Mississippi, but they’ll lose not playing 3 of the top 6 media markets at the time( St Louis was the Rams). College football is going through the same thing right now.

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

@@Kashdro17 - At least the NFL's current alignment is better than the sheet they had during the six division days, and I can't wait to watch UCLA and USC do poorly in the Big Ten unless they merge with the Pac-12!

[@George_Fl0yd]

It’s like kicking Vanderbilt out of the sec

[@stevenbauer4799]

or kicking ru out of BIG.

[@marcelschubert4361]

I'm honestly old enough to remember the BUCS being in our division as a bears fan I hated to see them go 2 easiest wins ever

[@michiganspencer6920]

What are you CRYING ABOUT?!?!?! You still get those 2 easy wins against the Lions!!!

[@ryanjacobson2508]

@@michiganspencer6920 The Bucs were consistently quite a bit worse than the Lions, back in the 80's and 90's. And the Bears were nothing special in the 90's.

[@yoshifan331]

Ironically, the Bucs won the Super Bowl in the very first year after they were removed from the NFC Central.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

Honestly, the Bucs after 1998 were gonna eventually win themselves a Super Bowl -- rather with Tony Dungy or someone else -- in one or another.

[@shruggzdastr8-facedclown]

The Buccaneers prolly hated playing in that division for all those years too -- not just for getting beat-down on almost 75% of the time by the other teams in that division but more for having to play so many games against cold-weather rivals, with two at the time having open-air stadiums (Green Bay and Chicago)

[@stevenbauer4799]

vikes were still outdoors '77-'81. five trips there for tb.

[@dvferyance]

It depends on when they had to play them. Sometimes they would go to Green Bay in September or October when the weather was still at least fairly warm.

[@billhicks6449]

Not to mention the Metrodome in Minneapolis was notorious for causing serious injuries in the 80's before they improved the turf. It was said to be hard as pavement but somehow also caused cleats to get caught in it causing knee and hip/groin injuries. Add in soldier field in Chicago also being known for causing soft tissue injuries and rolled ankles due to the inconsistencies of the ground and intentionally lengthened grass; the Bucs probably cut a third of their injuries getting out.

[@scottb3034]

the bucs were like 1-25 in below freezing games before they left the division. they definitely hated the cold.

[@quasimoto7662]

When the browns relocated to Baltimore in 1995, there were 2 votes against the move. Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. Class act from the Steelers.

[@billtooke6642]

Ralph Wilson was the only NFL owner to never vote in favor of a team's relocation

[@henryca03]

I'd figure Washington would also veto a move to Baltimore, considering they had the Baltimore market to themselves after Bob Irsay moved the Colts to Indiana.

[@CutterHistorical]

Kicking Tampa out because it makes the division look bad... SENSELESS Kicking Tampa out because theyre not Central US.. NOW THAT MAKES SENSE

[@jasonfire3434]

It doesn’t make sense, you would think the other four teams would want Tampa Bay in their division for the two free wins back then. Also kinda surprised the NFC East didn’t try to get the Cardinals kicked out of their division, their attendance was probably just as bad as the Bucs a lot of the time.

[@dylanf3108]

The NFL wasn’t some financial powerhouse back then. They didn’t have big TV deals. The gate revenues mattered. The Bucs were a nightmare for gate revenue because there owner was the cheapest by far in football.

[@chriskay1449]

You didn't watch the video. They were losing money playing the Bucs twice a year.

[@miked237]

In an earlier post, someone said that the reason the Cardinals weren’t moved out of the East was because Bill Bidwill didn’t want to move. In this case, when one has the Cowboys as a divisional opponent, that would be a nice sum of money left on the table if that move happened back then.

[@ericthompson749]

The immediate future after this request was that the Buccaneers became a good team with the hiring of Tony Dungy as Tampa's head coach in 1996. By creating a dominating defense (anchored by Hall of Famers Warren Sapp, John Lynch, & Derrick Brooks), Tampa Bay went to the postseason 4 times in Dungy's 6 seasons and won the Central Division in 1999.

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, but, unsurprisingly, simply, won, nothing, until Jon Gruden pushed them, over, the top, uncomfortable truths.

[@ericthompson749]

@@matthewdaley746 And Dungy would not make it over the hump until he was with the Colts in 2006.

[@matthewdaley746]

@ericthompson749 Which, only, happened, because, the Patriots, were, too cheap to pay, Deion Branch, (or, any, WRs), in, 2006, so, bizarre.

[@MnMGpa]

I remember watching all that, it was surreal but hilarious at the same time.

[@psychopathyoutubeemployees280]

If the Cowgirls enjoy being in the East so much, then move to Hartford or Quebec City and stay there!

[@LogoAttitude]

The NFL should have realigned in 1988 when the Cardinals moved to Phoenix AFC: E: BUF, MIA, NE, NYJ, PIT C: CIN, CLE, HOU, IND, KC W: DEN, RAI, SD, SEA NFC: E: ATL, NYG, PHI, TB, WAS C: CHI, DET, GB, MIN, NO W: DAL, PHO, RAM, SF

[@samuraibeastwarrior2886]

New Orleans being in the in the Packers Division make no sense

[@samuraibeastwarrior2886]

I would had put the Colts in the Packers division

[@stevengrvp]

What would Chris Berman do without bay of pigs twice a year

[@Rockhound6165]

And that God awful tie.

[@stevengrvp]

@@Rockhound6165 of course and the sapp and favre battle

[@Statinthehat]

[Chris Berman has entered the chat] NFC NORRIS! [Chris Berman has left the chat]

[@jackdavis8596]

2-3 years later they got Sapp, Alstott, and Dunn,etc. and became a good team. Wonder if the attendance went up then.

[@Bladewing10]

Wow, I've always been a Packers fan but I didn't know the Buccs were in the division, that's crazy!

[@Waterhead]

From heel heat to go away heat. The Bucs were truly the Shane McMahon of the NFL.

[@marcus813]

My Bucs weren't even as good as McMahon was, though. We were jobbers for the longest time.

[@ReveiwKing999]

HERE COMES THE MONEY! (Here we go! The money talks!) HERE COMES THE MONEY!

[@mfm4205]

@@marcus813 then xpac heat might work better (not like xpac ever won any major titles, though i can't really hate the guy personally, dude got more shit thrown at him than warranted).

[@teen_laqueefa]

@@mfm4205 90s attitude Era nostalgia is ripe here

[@billhicks6449]

I'd say it went from Honky Tonk Man heat to Disco Inferno heat. This is coming from a Vikings fan who actually enjoyed the Bucs rivalry.

[@CTubeMan]

This unofficial Official Jaguar Gator 9 historian will remind everyone you made videos about the following: 1. The forming of the Century Division in 1967. 2. How the Ravens volunteered to join the NFC East for 2002.

[@scottybbadd]

I'd argue that they succeeded. The Bears, Packers, Vikings, and Lions are the NFC North and the Buccaneers are in NFC South.

[@stephenriggs8177]

The identity of the NFC Central is so closely tied to those four, ancient rivals, that it never really occured to me that it had ever expanded.

[@dangeiger9796]

You should make a video about how the Bucs had one of the greatest drafts ever in 1995 getting Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks in the first round

[@MNMetalMachine]

I use to have a Warren Sapp jersey (orange) and Derrick Brooks autograph.

[@stephengrinkley9889]

Imagine being so terrible, that the Detroit Lions say you suck

[@Vasser12]

Gotta love the old NFC West

[@someperson3883]

A division so shitty most of its former that 60% if the division went to the NFC South

[@Rossturnerphoto]

I’m a Bucs fan and never heard this before. In the late 80s and early 90s the rare times Tampa stadium actually sold out, it was usually for games against the Bears or the Packers because both of those teams have a lot of fans in the Tampa Bay area, so it’s somewhat surprising to me that as bad as attendance was for the team in those years, but it was that low. I was a fan of realignment all along for geographic reasons, but that’s crazy that the other NFC Central teams actively campaigned to try to get the Bucs out. For the most part I think the NFL got the divisions right when they finally did realign, although it is crazy that Indianapolis is in the south division.

[@LogoAttitude]

the Northeastern teams also have a lot of fans in Tampa Bay, which could have worked to the Bucs' favor if they had been in the NFC East in the past

[@Marcuswelby-nx2te]

Wrong

[@pluto545]

Faintly, remember analysts joking about this on TV. It was so random, thought were being facetious.

[@CTubeMan]

This reminds me of the reasoning behind contracting the Expos and Twins out of MLB.

[@matthewdaley746]

It made sense, with, the Expos, they, were, a, minor-league, team, for, the rest of MLB, and, before, Tampa Bay, they, were, the, first, team to exist in a market, completely, indifferent to them, except, no success, an unmitigated disaster.

[@henryca03]

It was almost as if the 1998 expansion was a mistake, and MLB instead should have moved the Expos and Twins.

[@maddllamakmh1040]

I was so happy when the Bucs finally got the NFC South division (huge Bucs fan). Absolutely hated when the Bucs had to go to Green Bay. Still, watching Favre vs. Sapp was the highlight of my weekend.

[@Marcuswelby-nx2te]

Shhhhhh

[@danangell5482]

1995 radical realignment idea: NFC East: Atlanta, Carolina, N.Y. Giants, Philadelphia, Washington NFC North: Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota, St. Louis NFC South: Arizona, Dallas, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, San Francisco AFC East: Buffalo, Jacksonville, New England, N.Y. Jets, Miami AFC Central: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Houston, Pittsburgh AFC West: Denver, Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego, Seattle

[@mikerussell1859]

Looks a lot better to me than what we did have during those 7 seasons! The one team I can see having a hissy fit with your proposal would be the Cowboys. They see their position in the NFC East as a sort of status symbol. The only reason the Cowboys ever went to the East in the first place is that they are a year older than the Vikings, and the powers that be didn't want a brand new team & a 2nd year team in the same division.

[@danangell5482]

@@mikerussell1859 Actually, the reason the Cowboys went to the East was because the NFC couldn't agree on divisional alignment because everyone was trying to avoid sharing a division with the Cowboys and Vikings and everyone was trying to get the Saints in their division. The NFL pulled the divisional alignment for the NFC out of a hat with four other plans...and it was the only one of the five that had Dallas in the East. The other four all had Minnesota in the East.

[@UnlimitedProduction1]

To be fair some the divisions location back then made no sense Arizona was in the east at point for Christ sake

[@matthewdaley746]

The only thing that, remotely makes sense about that, was, they wanted to maintain rivalries, and, they had played in, St. Louis, for, years, despite, usually, losing, (Chicago, before, that).

[@paulweston8408]

Another great video!

[@stevenbauer4799]

remember the 'SAPP FREEZES' sign in philly during succ/eagle playoff game?

[@matthewdaley746]

Eagles, iced, after, outstanding.

[@stevenbauer4799]

@@matthewdaley746yep. more reid failure in philly.

[@matthewdaley746]

@stevenbauer4799 Only, won, a, SB, because, the, 49ers, choked, probable, regression.

[@KittyPurrfect100]

The black and blue division with cream sickle orange with Errol Flynn winking. Florida is not in the Midwest 😂 Arghhhhh

[@bugsybogart6926]

Them Creamsicle Uniforms Made It Even Worse In The NFC Central Division 😂😂😂😂

[@kyle1910]

Remember that for 1/4 century the NL West had the Braves and Reds, who made 3 WC trips instead of 2, which also meant the Dodgers, Giants and Padres had to make extra trips east to play those teams

[@matthewdaley746]

MLB, wanted the, Cubs-Cardinals, rivalry, to be preserved, so, the, Braves, and, Reds, were, in the, NL West, really, terrible.

[@kyle1910]

They could have put the Cubs and Cards in the West, rivalry maintained. If that was their explanation it makes even less sense

[@matthewdaley746]

@kyle1910 It gets better, the, White Sox, were, in the, AL West, despite, playing in the, very, same city, truly, absurd.

[@stevenbauer4799]

@@matthewdaley746 same state teams. why are pirates in central and phils in east? astros were in central and rangers in west for years?

[@matthewdaley746]

@@stevenbauer4799 Pennsylvania's enormous, Texas's stumped.

[@jamiewiesner135]

Can we get a video as to why the NFL changed the divisions and replaced AFC Central and NFC Central with the NFC North and South and the AFC North and South in 2002? I've just always wondered why they did that.

[@miked31784]

They did that because of the addition of the Houston Texans.

[@anthony_rivera4735]

Because the Houston Texans were the 32nd team so now the NFL had an even number of teams again so eight divisions of four teams in each division the central divisions were rebranded as north divisions and south divisions were slotted in each conference, the Colts went from the afc East to debuting afc south the Jaguars and Titans went from afc central to debuting afc south, the Buccaneers went from nfc central to debuting nfc south and the Falcons, Panthers and Saints went from nfc west to debuting nfc south

[@thomascrowley9122]

Don't need a video on that

[@Disengage]

Because the Houston expansion brought the league to 32 teams and 32 divides evenly into 8 divisions and doesn't divide evenly in 6 divisions.

[@stevenbauer4799]

because with 32 teams a four division four team format per conference was needed. with n, s, e, w, central just didn't fit anymore.

[@jourdanjones31]

This is an incredible story

[@christopherengel7436]

I laughed pretty hard all the way through this great story. I was waiting for you to mention the Buccaneers have won as many Super Bowls as they rest if the Central "Powers". Of course they had beef because as you so eloquently said "The Bucs sucked."

[@chriskay1449]

Also in 1994, All 4 teams made the playoffs with winning records while the Bucs were sitting at home at 6-10.

[@TheSonicsean]

I love how for the better part of a decade Florida had two teams in the Central divisions.

[@brettpatterson404]

The bonkers of the 1990s nfl divisions Arizona-East New Orleans, Atlanta-West Tampa, Jacksonville-Central

[@jasonfire3434]

Dallas and Arizona in the East Baltimore in the Central Indianapolis in the East

[@anthony_rivera4735]

@@brettpatterson404 even in St. Louis the nfl Cardinals were either in an eastern conference 1960-1969 and were in the nfc East 1970-1987 just like their baseball twin, even after the football version relocated to Arizona they stayed in that division 1988-2001

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

Jacksonville is about as far west as Cleveland.

[@kd3045]

As a Packers fan hearing this for the first time, I can't help but laugh at the irony of Green Bay not wanting anything to do with another team since at this time the team was only beginning to shed its status as the "Siberia of the NFL" after decades of being a bottom feeder team itself.

[@Joe-Exit]

I had always wished in the realignment in 2002 that the Cowboys and Panthers had traded places. It would have made sense from a geographic stand point. But heaven forbid we mess with tradition when it comes to the Dallas Cowgirls.

[@psychopathyoutubeemployees280]

I hate Tex Schramm (let alone Jerry Jones). If the Cowgirls were Iike the Culverhouse Buc's, then the northeast cities would have gotten rid of them by now.

[@shackdaddy7106]

This geographical craziness started in the NFL back in 1953. With the Chicago Cardinals going to the NFL east and the Baltimore colts into the NFL West. The reason that happened is because George Halas, owner and mastermind of the Chicago Bears for some reason did not want to play the Chicago cardinals twice every season as they had since the NFL began in 1920. He actually hated the Cardinals more than the Packers. So George got his way and the Bears only played the Cardinals once a year. By 1961 when the NFL expanded to 14 teams. The Bears were only playing the Cardinals every so often. Of course the Cardinals had moved to St. Louis by then. They stayed in the NFL/NFC East until 2002.. And the Baltimore Colts stayed in the NFL West until the merger in 1970. Having said all that, a geographical structure is not that important in the NFL as it would be in the other major sports because teams only play one game a week. And road trips are generally only a couple of days. Once the NFL got to the magic number of 32 teams in 2002 they were were were able to correct most of this. Some say Indianapolis, Miami, Baltimore and even Dallas are not geographically correct. Indianapolis could be put in the AFC North, Baltimore could be put in the AFC East and Miami could be put in the AFC south. Dallas would have to stay where it is. But as far as the rivalries go they are perfect.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

I'd swap the Colts and Dolphins. The other three AFC North teams have "family ties" with my Ravens that Baltimore will never leave this marriage. You can thank Art Modell for that 😉

[@ericthomas917]

@@MarloSoBalJr the Dolphins have historic ties to the Bills, Jets and Patriots

[@dclayton734]

The Lions complaining about someone else being a loser.

[@andrewarmstrong7254]

You know it's bad when the Lions are complaining about another teams ineptitude.

[@chriskay1449]

Uhh, at the time they were complaining they had just played in the NFC Title game and were a perennial playoff team.

[@taylordunekacke5784]

The Cardinals should have gone to the west, Panthers to Central and Bucs East.

[@KittyPurrfect100]

St Louis Rams stayed in the NFC West then moved to Los Angeles in 2016. The Winnipeg Jets formerly the Atlanta Thrashers were still in the same division in the Eastern Conference that Atlanta occupied. The Red Wings were better when they were in the Western Conference even though they play in the Eastern time zone

[@Rockhound6165]

I think a main issue here wasn't that the Bucs were a bad team because if you're one of the better teams it's a good way to pad your record. The issue, at least IMO, would be travel. You can literally take a bus between the Packers/Lions/Bears/Vikings but Tampa is over 1,000 miles from the closest North city which is Chicago. Also, those 4 teams have been beating each other up since 1961. The Bucs were the red headed step child when they first entered the division in 1977(they were in the AFC West in 1976) and it takes decades to develop rivalries. Hell, I don't think Tampa has a true rival yet.

[@connorrivers995]

Fair. When you think NFC South rivals you think either Saints/Falcons or Saints/Panthers

[@marcus813]

There is a bit of a rivalry developing between Tampa Bay and New Orleans.

[@Rockhound6165]

@@marcus813 eh, maybe but it's not there yet. When I think of Rivalries I think Cowboys/Redskins or Stealers/Browns(old Browns) or Stealers/Raiders or Packers/Bears. Then there are minor rivalries like the Eagles/Cowboys(Dallas fans don't see this as much of a rivalry) or Bengals/Browns or Rams/49ers. Even Stealers/Cowboys was a good rivalry back in the day.

[@marcus813]

@@Rockhound6165 Those rivalries you mentioned involve franchises that are much older than the Bucs are (neé 1976), so those franchises have had more time to build said rivalries than the Bucs have had to build some with any of their current division rivals. That stuff takes time.

[@Rockhound6165]

@@marcus813 but the Seahawks were able to forge a rivalry with not only the Raiders when they were in the AFC but they've built rivalries with both the 49ers and Cardinals since coming to the NFC so how were they able to do it and not the Bucs?

[@richardmills1455]

Great Video. What I find hilarious is that the Bucs have been more successful since they campaigned to push the Bucs out than the bears and lions; and now the bears and lions are two of the NFL's biggest jokes.

[@WhiteyTheWhiteGuyShow]

where can i find full games of this era? I live the early mid 90's but only find a few games on yt

[@nelroy78]

There was also talk of putting the Jaguars in the NFC Central, so basically the NFC Central would’ve just swapped out one Florida team for another. The proposal was the Panthers and Colts to the AFC Central, the Oilers to the AFC West, the Bucs to the AFC East, the Seahawks and Cardinals to the NFC West and the Falcons to the NFC East.

[@samuraibeastwarrior2886]

Yet the Cardinals are in the NFC west though

[@nelroy78]

@@samuraibeastwarrior2886 at the time they were still in the NFC East

[@martywhite5384]

Hilarious that there aren't any highlights of the Bears scoring or doing anything against the Packers.

[@Marcuswelby-nx2te]

Arty shhhhhh

[@alienlife7754]

Just like Dallas has no business being in the NFC East.

[@Office_De_Receiver_Complaints]

Warren Sapp and Mike Alstott changed a lot of that.

[@rivalstorm7216]

The Bucs had over a decade of losing. I can’t blame them from 1983-1996 the Bucs came dead last in the division 8 times

[@matthewdaley746]

I'm, actually, far, more, surprised that they avoided the basement, six, times.

[@BuccaneerBruce]

@@matthewdaley746 The other teams in that division had limited success in that time frame as well.

[@matthewdaley746]

@@BuccaneerBruce One Division, innumerable contradictions.

[@anthony_rivera4735]

The Buccaneers were horrible again 2009-2019 with the exception of 2010 and 2016 where tiebreakers kept them out of the playoffs

[@rivalstorm7216]

@@anthony_rivera4735 I would say 2008-2019 because the went 9-3 after New Orleans but lost the final 4 games including a OT game against Atlanta

[@bokkebokke7]

Clearly the NFL was ignorant on geography. All seriousness, the whole 2 east coast and 2 west coast teams thing was a holdover from the NFL Coastal Division back in the day. They just never really thought to realign based on geography until the Texans came into the league.

[@charleswilliamsjr]

4 teams made the playoffs in the same year !!!

[@Rockhound6165]

And after beating each other up in the wild card round, both remaining teams got their asses handed to them. Bears lost 44-15 and the Packers lose 35-9.

[@bearded_odin]

Fun fact: The Bucs won the NFC North Division more recently than the Lions.

[@mkepioneet]

Funny, this is almost the opposite of what happened in D3 football in the MIAC, where the bottom half of the conference voted to kick St Thomas (MN) out for being too dominant but more because one coach got mad at the UST coach. Also, UST rival St John's (MN) had a longer period of dominance and they were fine. Hell, Mount Union has basically every OAC title since the early 99s and they're fine with that

[@floridasrealest2]

it's funny how the LIONS of all teams were in on this

[@mikerussell1859]

St. Louis would have been a perfect 5th city in the NFC Central, but there's no good way to divide up the other 10 teams between the West & the East. In the end, I would have told the four NFC Central teams "You've done your time, request granted," and put the Bucs in the West & the Panthers in the Central. And while I'm at it, I'd have flipped Arizona & Atlanta. Nothing made less sense than the 2nd western most team in the entire conference being in the East.

[@chriskay1449]

In order to do that, you needed owner approval. In other words, flipping Arizona and Atlanta would have been killed by the other owners in the East, partiicularly Bill Bidwell.

[@chriskay1449]

Well, the Packers have also won as many Super Bowls as the other 4 combined since the request was made

[@CNSPORTZEDITZ]

Before the Seattle Kraken was introduced, every NHL division had 8 teams except the Central Division which had 7. The Kraken’s addition as the 32nd team would even that out. At the time, the 2 western conference divisions were split within the Mountain Timezone. Since there were no Central teams east of the Rockies, it would have put Seattle as the weird outlier in that division. So the NHL realigned the easternmost team in the Pacific to the Central division, which is the Arizona Coyotes. The Kraken replaced them when they joined the league. I don’t understand why the NFL didn’t realign the divisions in 1995 to even them out. It created more problems than it solved. And it would leave anyone who has ever seen a map of America scratching their heads.

[@michaelvandeginste3497]

As a Lions fan, I was thrilled when the Buccaneers finally left. They just didn't belong in that division. Not only that, but I got tired of the Lions losing to them so often!

[@DracoFire3000]

NFC north is one of the only sports divisions in the country to actually have close geographical proximity for all teams in the division. We don't need Tampa boys here.

[@youknowimright.3137]

@@DracoFire3000 "We dont need Tampa boys here" Yet the bucs have more super bowl titles than 3 of those teams combined lmfao.

[@DracoFire3000]

@@youknowimright.3137 Typical Lightning fan, bragging about titles. Without Brady and his magic horseshoe joining your little super team you wouldn't have even made the conference game. Once Brady retires your team will sink back into mediocrity. How's it feel to get destroyed by the Avs after repeating as champs? Couldn't hold on for a couple more games, huh?

[@youknowimright.3137]

@@DracoFire3000 Lol I sure did trigger you. Still more super bowls than 3 of those teams combined keep talking. i had no problem losing to the avs and no problem being the first team in a couple of decades going to 3 straight finals appearances. I didn't even expect us to make it this year. So yeah thats how I feel : D sorry to disappoint you. You are probably a sad lions fan. Poor baby.

[@youknowimright.3137]

@@DracoFire3000 actually you are probably going to lie and say you are a packers fan just to hide the embarrassment. ...I guarantee it.

[@jonaswaltman7359]

There was only 3 division in the AFC and NFC. They wanted to bring in two new teams. So the NFL made 4 division in the AFC and NFC. The Colts use to be in the division of the AFC east. The Seattle seahawks was once in the AFC West. Now they're in the NFC West. What those division kicked the Colts and the Seahawks out thier division. You Cap! Bro, the Packers have more championship then. The bucs, lions,and Vikings combine. They won back to back Superbowls. The first and 2nd Superbowls. Brett has one and Aaron has one. That's 4 Superbowls and the Buc's have 2 Superbowls. Because Tom Brady is there. It took you 20 years apart to win 2. But since the league and the bucs joining the NFL. Took them 30 years to get thier first one

[@jaysonraphaelmurdock8812]

I always wanted a super bowl between this version of Tampa Bay and the Houston Oilers. It would look awesome. 😁

[@MarloSoBalJr]

Not with those ancient '80s TVs. Your screen would would see nothing but bright saturation

[@hiddenmagnum9590]

The real NFC north rivalry is Packers v Vikings. The Bears have been a joke for decades

[@psychopathyoutubeemployees280]

Bears haven't been good since Virginia Food-Under-Car-Keys-Edward-Daniels over Ditka.

[@maverickpaladin4155]

Oddly enough, aside from the Packers, the NFC North is arguably the NFL's perennial cupcake division, while the NFC South has made multiple appearances in the big game, and Tampa and New Orleans have won 3 titles...interesting twist of fate.

[@AustinG813]

And to this day the Bucs have won the NFC Central/North more recently than the Lions

[@jimclark6493]

The Lions have got some nerve. They’re the worst in NFL history. They should be realigned to the CFL.

[@jdubwill71]

The fans loved to come to Tampa in oct. nov. and dec. They are missing it now.

[@Marcuswelby-nx2te]

Amen to that

[@JDFrank20Diaz]

Meanwhile Since 2002 Realignment The Detroit Lions Went on to be 0-16 later down the road The Vikings 0 Superbowls Packers Choke Artists Bears Solid Defense but No QB Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2-0 in Superbowls Yeah NFC North Be careful what you wish for Tampa Bay got the last laugh 🤣

[@stevenbauer4799]

tb 0-14 in '76. 26 game losing streak. worst win % all time of all teams. nfc south 3-4 in s b's. fewest s b wins/appearances of all divisions. vikes 0 s b appearances since going indoors.

[@JDFrank20Diaz]

@@stevenbauer4799 That's fine Meanwhile Detroit can sulk with No Superbowls The Vikings at one point could of relocated to Alabama twice imagine if that happened the content here is dope

[@stevenbauer4799]

@@JDFrank20Diaz yep. it's all good man. vikes also used san antonio threat to get that ugly ass ship stadium. now bears are threatening to leave chitown for burbs. and lions can go to shit as long as fords are associated with them. closest detroit got to a s b was hosting two of them. nfl not too excited to go back there for one. meanwhile reg. season mvp arod goes to waste in gb. north, two s b titles since bears shuffled to s b win 37 years ago. haha to north.

[@JDFrank20Diaz]

@@stevenbauer4799 Yeah Chicago management doesn't care for it's fans they purposely renovated the stadium at a lower capacity and charged more money for tickets the organization is ran like a Billionaires Country Club Everyone wants new lavish stadiums

[@stevenbauer4799]

@@JDFrank20Diaz and beetlejuice told bears they will stay and renovate soldier field once again and like it. too bad bears don't put as much time into finding a qb as they do renovating that dump. and fields sucks.

[@BarryGGould]

ive aleays been a big bucs fan fan but never understood why the bucs being a southern team is in a division made up of far northern teams so i agreed with the realignment and it made alot more sense

[@psychopathyoutubeemployees280]

Blame the Cowgirls and Cardinals.

[@christophercripps7639]

The reason the NFC North 4 didn’t get their wish was probably the same no other division wanted the Bucs: the lousy visitor’s share.

[@matthewlawson1405]

The same can be said for the cardinals back in the 80's and part of 90's

[@MarloSoBalJr]

While in the STL market, yes. The NFC East probably wanted the Cardinals gone but once Bob Bidwell relocated them to PHX, that revenue share ballooned. Flights in & out across the country for the other four were VERY healthy for sure after that move

[@johnreid4256]

Yeah it's funny that they won the same amount of super bowls it's also funny that the lions were the ones that spearheaded it and they took their spot at the bottom of that division year after year

[@stevenbauer4799]

it was the long time black and blue division between pack, lions, vikes, and bears. succs just never fit in it. when rams moved to st.l they should have gone into central and cards now in az. moved to nfc west. i guess nfl by passing st.l and baltimore in '90's expansion to go into car. was a favour to succs. '02 re-alignment straightened that out. and black and blue division teams once had the cold weather advantage that was detriment to loveable succs. at one time succs never won a game when temp was under 32 degrees, vikes became weak once they went indoors. no wintry cold minny winter weather advantage anymore for vikes. probably why vikes haven't been to a s b since going indoors. indoor or outdoors doesn't matter for lions. they'll always suck either way..