Realignment is the
only viable long term solution to the NFL's attendance problem. I suspect they know that, but the owners have shown themselves to be absolutely unwilling to review a major overhaul of the divisional alignment structure and take advantage of geographical rivalries the way college football does. It's one reason why the NFL has never seriously threatened the passion that college football enjoys and probably never will, and I say that as a bigger NFL fan than college football fan.
Rivalries have to exist on more than paper and the internet. They grow in neighborhoods split by fandom, by families of different teams coming together, by road trips made by fans of modest means (blue collar fans are the heart of any fanbase). By proximity, in other words. Sure, there would be a backlash, and short term profits would suffer. But the long term gains would be enormous.
There's nothing quite like a map to show why this should be done, so here's one.
The current alignment is utterly ad hoc and ridiculous as a result. A farce. There is no way to look at the map and see the logic in it.
I gave over a Saturday afternoon a year ago to looking at this and trying to come to a reasonable solution that made for the shortest average distance between teams in divisions while respecting current and common sense rivalries where I could. This made for some awkward pairings (Bengals and Browns with the Titans and Panthers, for instance, instead of with Pittsburgh). But overall I think it provides a good balance.
For your consideration:
AFC South:
Dolphins, Jaguars, Bucs, Falcons
AFC East:
Titans, Panthers, Bengals, Browns
AFC North:
Patriots, Giants, Jets, Bills
AFC Central:
Colts, Chiefs, Rams, Broncos
NFC East:
Redskins, Ravens, Steelers, Eagles
NFC North
Packers, Bears, Lions, Vikings
(Any wonder the only division to stay the same is also home to the best rivalries in the NFL?)
NFC South:
Cowboys, Texans, Saints, Cardinals
NFC West:
Chargers, 49ers, Raiders, Seahawks
