NFL question regarding conferences?

Question

Does each conference have a set # of teams that always appear in that league? Or, do teams get randomly selected to conferences?

A little while ago I saw a question asking if 2 teams from the same conference could play each other in the play offs. Well, a bunch of inbred answerers called the asker stupid.

To me (anyone not too familiar with football) its a valid question. I know last years Super Bowl was between the Patriots & the Colts. I also know that this year they were in the same conference.

Hence my question.

Answer 1

There is an AFC (Amercian Conference) and a NFC (National Conference. That stems from the old days when we had the NFL and AFL. They merged and created the two conferences. Teams generally stay in their conference, but there have been a few teams in history that have moved and changed conferences.



Each team is in a division. The winner of each division makes the playoffs to determine the winner of their Conference. To make it interesting and balanced, two "wild card" teams with the best records also make the playoffs.



The conference playoff championship was last week-end. The Giants won the NFC Championship and the Patriots won the AFC Championship. They play each other in the Super Bowl.



You are wrong about the last Super Bowl. The Bears played the Colts and the Colts won. There would be no way for the Pats to play the Colts in the Superbowl since they are both in the AFC.

Answer 2

The conferences are set and remain the same throughout the year. Sometimes, within a conference a team may be moved from one division to another but it would still remain in the national or american conference. This occurs if new teams are entered into the league. Playoffs are always between teams in the same conference, never in different ones. The game between the Patriots and Colts last year was actually the conference championship game and not the super bowl. This is where the playoffs lead...to the conference championship. You play within your own conference until the champion is determined and then in the super bowl the two conference champions play to determine the best team in the entire NFL (for that year).

Answer 3

The Patriots and the Colts played in last years AFC championship. The AFC and the NFC are the two conferences. The Colts played the Bears in the superbowl last year. The conferences are set. Within the conferences you have divisions and they are set as well. The only time this changes is if the NFL gets new teams.



I know this is called Yahoo Answers, but most people that come here have a basic knowledge of football. If you have questions about the fundamentals of football it would probably be better (and more reliable) if you researched it eslewhere. Try NFL.com or simply google.

Answer 4

Last years superbowl was not between the patriots and colts, they are both in the AFC. Last years superbowl was the Colts from the AFC and the Bears from the NFC.



The superbowl always has the best team from teh AFC play the best team from the NFC.



And yes two teams from teh same conference could play each other in teh playoffs. with the wildcard system not only the winner of each local conference advances but the 2 teams with the best record get wild cards and are in the playoffs as well.



Each conference has 16 teams and 4 smaller conferences. They usually stay the same. the last time they switched was when the Houston Texans became a team and the Seahawks switched from the AFC to the NFC along with a few other changes. check out the NFL website www.nfl.com for more info on how things are set up.

Answer 5

Last year's super bowl was between the Bears and Colts. It's ok. The conferences are confusing for people not that familiar with football. The conferences (NFC and AFC) are basically split down the middle and one team from each gets to go to the SuperBowl.



What you might have heard last year was when the Pats and Colts played in the AFC championship they were playing to "win" the SuperBowl because no one thought the NFC team (whoever it might have been) had a chance against the much stronger AFC.

Answer 6

Each conference has a select number of teams for each division and conference. The NFL is made up of two conferences, NFC(National Football Conference) and the AFC(American Football Confernece) and each Conference has 4 divisions(North, South, East, West). When teams go to the playoffs they only play other teams from there conference. The only people who make it to the playoffs are the teams that have done the best overall in their divisions and just a select few make the wild-card round. After the winners of the wild card round they go into the division round where the winners of wild card face the division champs of each division of their conference. After that round their is 4 teams remaining. Then it goes to the Conference round which is said to be the super bowl of conferences, because the teams know each other so well by going head to head before. The winners of that round go on to the big shabang the SuperBowl. Who ever whens that is the NFL champion of the year. Hope this helps!!

Answer 7

Each Conference is set IN STONE, basically.. year after year and doesn't change unless there's something Big voted on by owners, the Commissioner, etc. (or new teams are added, and that hasn't happened in a while) and the Pats & Colts play in the same Conference (AFC) and played last year, for the Right to go to the Super Bowl and beat the Chicago Bears who were there as the rep. from the other conference (NFC).



There's a long history, for how/why these came about.. and it's all contained in decade of the 1960's.



Most of the "older" teams pre-1960's are in the NFC now (Giants, Eagles, Lions, Bears, old Baltimore Colts, Browns)... and the league that was created as a parallel competitor (called the AFL) was simply merged as the AFC in the late 1960's and was regarded as a weaker conference.. they passed more, the NFC ran more.. better defense, tougher teams played in the NFC than the "new" AFC... (Raiders, Jets, KC Chiefs, Chargers, etc.)... it wasn't until SUPER BOWL III in 1969 that the AFC finally showed it could "play" on the same level, when the AFC's NY Jets shocked the football universe and beat the powerful Colts... (the Jets were a 19 POINT underdog... in the Super Bowl!)... and many say, that game was "fixed" to better merge the leagues, and keep many of the AFC teams from bankruptcy as people were measuring them vs. the older NFC/NFL teams.. every week...



Sooooooooooooooo... what the NFL did.. was shuffle the deck.. and put the OLD NFL/NFC Cleveland Browns that used to play the NY Giants, Packers, Bears, etc. into the new AFC... where they are now... and also, the powerhouse Baltimore Colts with Johnny Unitas etc. were send over to the AFC, as well... after decades of teams moving, franchises ending & being reborn (Baltimore lost the Colts to Indianapolic, but later got the Ravens...) the league has SET the AFC and NFC into stone, like I say...



Even the Dallas Cowboys.. who really are NOT an eastern team by anyone's stretch... are still playing vs. Philly, NY, DC... because what works since the 60's and 70's, still works for the formulas of the NFL.

Answer 8

playoff system:



Two conferences (AFC and NFC)



Each division winner makes the playoffs (4 divisions; North, East, West, South)



Two wild card spots in each conference given to the best 2 records who did not win their division.



the best 2 team records in each conference get's a 1st round bye. So 2 teams in the NFC get byes and 2 teams from the AFC get byes



The other 4 teams who made the playoffs play in the 'wild card' round.



The winners of the wild card game move on to play the 2 teams with byes in the 'divisional round'



The winners of the divisonal rounds play each other in the 'conference championship' (this is what the Pats v Colts was last season, the AFC conference championship)



the 2 winners of the conference (NFC AFC) championship play for the Superbowl.







Both AFC and NFC have a set number of 16 teams in their conference.

Answer 9

Last year's SB was between the Colts(AFC) and Bears(NFC). Never have two teams from the same conference or league played each other in a SB. nor will they ever

Answer 10

obviously you DON'T know if you think the Super Bowl was b/c the Pats and Colts. and obviously 2 teams from the same conference play each other. called the playoffs. so this question is just as stupid as the other one.

Answer 11

Last years Superbowl was between Chicago Bears and Indy Colts. Since you are not much familiar with the NFL, read the Wiki article and it might help you understand more.

Answer 12

Last years super bowl it was Bears vs Colts and they are not in the same devision...

Answer 13

sorry but the colts play the bears in the superbowl. the confernces are made already and the are the same every year.