When I was a teenager, 4 of 6 NHL teams made the post-season tournament. That was ridiculous: an entire regular season played to eliminate only two teams. Although as a high schooler I did root for the Blackhawks on their way to the 1961 Stanley Cup. At that same time the only MLB postseason series was the World Series, and that seemed just fine. While in high school I did cheer enthusiastically when the White Sox clinched the 1959 American League pennant during a rare road game telecast, since they were a Chicago team even though not my favorite one. My father taught me that the Sox were our favorite team in "that other league", even though he emphasized that the Cubs were to receive our family's true loyalty.

In those earlier days winning a league title with the best record was a big deal. The final weeks were real dogfights. Fans were more likely to remember who won their favorite league’s championships in previous years than who won the World Series. That final series was more of a showcase for the two league champions. All World Series games were in the daytime, so most people could not watch all of those games on TV. Almost all baseball fans have heard of Bobby Thomson’s walk-off home run to win the 1951 National League three-game playoff and nicknamed “The Shot Heard Round the World”. That’s when the word playoff held its true meaning of playing it off to break end of season ties rather than invoking a tiebreaker formula. Hardly anyone remembers that Thomson’s Giants lost the 1951 World Series to the Yankees. Nowadays I look upon the post-season tournament as just that: a showcase tournament. The truly best MLB teams may not make it to the finals. In baseball so much depends on whether struck balls find holes or hits are bunched rather than spread out. Over the course of a season the better teams overcome bad luck streaks. That’s often not the case under the current post-season format.

On the contrary, I was not pleased with the Cubs attaining their only wildcard berth in 1998. I’ve always been opposed to the concept. They were quickly and deservedly knocked out by a divisional champ. I would not have held my head so high if they had sneaked into the 1998 World Series. Divisional races are much more heated, exiting and truly meaningful without wildcards. If only divisional champions were in the tournament, I would have greater interest. Instead I tend to ignore much of the baseball post-season and focus at that time on the NFL Bears and college football. What's most important to me baseball-wise nowadays is that my favorite team wins the games my family actually attends. I'm not nearly as aware of the standings as when I was young. But major sports and TV have formed alliances that seem to attract young people to post-season tournaments. I can't really argue with the dollars they raise in the process.