Who would you rather see win, the best team or the team that gets hot at the right time?

[Tuberski]

Facebook discussion about the World Cup made me wonder.

ACK!

[Sava]

The best team is the one that wins.

[AAAAAAAAH!]

The best team is the one that wins.

BULLSHT
LUCK ISN'T THE SAME AS BEING GOOD

[Sava]

BULLSHT
LUCK ISN'T THE SAME AS BEING GOOD

[Al B. Sure!]

Sometimes a team is genuinely better against all other opponents but a particular, not as good team, has their number. Case in point is the New York Giants with regards to the Patriots. I will not act like the Giants either time they won the Super Bowl were the best team in the NFL that year (they were a 10-6 and a 9-7 team in the respective regular seasons). The Giants, however, were absolutely built to defeat a team like the Patriots both years by being heavily invested in Pro Bowl caliber defensive linemen who could get a stifling pass rush with only four rushers. Had the Patriots played just about any other NFC team in the Super Bowl those years, they probably would have won; had the Giants played some of the other AFC teams those years, they probably would have lost.

[Pax]

I agree with Al. I would only add that it's actually quite often that particular teams or athletes have another athletes number. Case in point is Benson Henderson/Anthony Pettis. Pettis is 2 for 2 against Henderson. Yet Henderson has beat someone that defeated Pettis. Also it's more than luck to be hot at the right time. There is an actual feel to momentum and motivation that can determine the outcome of various events.

[Dinner]

I don't really care about sports. From an absolutist standpoint the team which wins the game is obviously the better team at that moment.

[regexcellent]

I don't have the time or inclination to accumulate some kind of encyclopedic knowledge of players, strategies, etc. I am vaguely aware of who is playing who most of the time and who the favorite is to win. Watching the games is often fun but making predictions, fantasy leagues etc. are just a greater investment of energy than I'm willing to indulge in.

[Al B. Sure!]

That's nice, Oerdin and Reg. Please do tell us more.

[Bereta_Eder]

Nah a team can get hot once, twice three times but can't do it all the time.
In order to get there you need to be good.
But good doesn't mean for example having the best players. It also means having a good strategy and also changing it at middle game if need be. That's the work for the coach.
So I'd say the best team, based on also strategy. So best team including coach

[Dinner]

That's nice, Oerdin and Reg. Please do tell us more.

In any given game the team which actually does win is the better team at that moment in time. This isn't complicated so even you should be able to understand it.

[Al B. Sure!]

In any given game the team which actually does win is the better team at that moment in time. This isn't complicated so even you should be able to understand it.

Only the better team against that particular opponent. You make being wrong a skill.

[Ben Kenobi]

We should call it 'being Oerdin', so that by definition, OIAW would be a tautology.

[Sava]

alby seems more interested in arguing against real world results versus his personal evaluation of teams

The team that wins is better. By default. That's the way sports works. Coulda shoulda woulda's don't count.

Yes, it's possible for a championship team to lose against another opponent. However, that opponent didn't make it to the final game. So it's moot.

[Al B. Sure!]

You can only beat the opponents you play. What is so hard to understand about that?

It's a really basic thing. If team A beats team B and team B beats team C, that doesn't mean that team A would beat team C.