'What If?' Series #3 - George Foreman wins 'The Rumble in the Jungle'

I was not yet born when the classic battle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman took place in Zaire in 1974. But I happened to first catch the match on ESPN Classic many years ago. It was a bout that always intrigued me because many thought that Foreman had a chance to defeat "The Greatest." What I saw was a fight where Foreman tired himself out and eventually Ali was able to knock him out in the eighth round. But what if Foreman had executed a more solid strategy and overcame Ali?

While Foreman would go on to achieve a great name for himself in the world of boxing, it is interesting to think of what would have happened if he remained undefeated and successfully defended his world championship. He had come into the fight with wins of Joe Frazier and Ken Norton. A win over Ali would have perhaps allowed him to remain undefeated for quite some time. And perhaps we would have even seen a rematch between Foreman and Ali. I believe Foreman losing the championship and never receiving a rematch from Ali took something away from him and stopped the awesome momentum he had before.

When Ali was defeated by Frazier in 1971, it was his first defeat. It was the same Frazier that Foreman dominated to become the heavyweight champion. Had Ali lost to Foreman, perhaps more people may be talking about Foreman today rather than Ali. I believe that win by Ali over Foreman established that he was still a major player in the boxing world. Had he been defeated, it is questionable whether he would have ever regained the heavyweight championship again. And perhaps, the "Thrilla in the Manila" may have never happened. That battle with Frazier in 1975 and the punishment that both men took was likely the beginning of the end of Ali's career.

While reflecting back on this bout, I find myself remembering just how big heavyweight boxing was during the 1970s. Today's heavyweight division is nowhere near that today as unless Floyd Mayweather is part of a card, not many other boxers are drawing the way guys like Ali, Foreman and Frazier did years ago. What do you think?

Loving sports history,

LandoRigs

'What If?' Series #2 - The Lakers defeat the Bulls in 1991

The 1990-91 NBA season was seen as the year when former Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan finally emerged as the new leader in the pro basketball world. Before the end of this season, the NBA had been ruled by former Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird. Between the two players, they won 8 NBA championships (Johnson 5, Bird 3) from 1980-1988. They also, along with Julius Erving, spearheaded an entirely new awareness of the NBA that brought the game to levels of popularity it had never seen. Going into the 1990-91 season, Jordan was starting to be recognized as one of the NBA's elite players but didn't have a championship to go with his growing resume.

In what was a fitting NBA Finals matchup for that season, the Bulls took on the Lakers in the NBA Finals. After losing the first came to L.A., Chicago came back and took four straight to win its first NBA championship.

But what if instead of Jordan and the Bulls making history, the Lakers found a way to outlast the Bulls and win it all? Would it have changed the entire landscape of what we knew as NBA basketball in the 1990s? The answer is no.

If the Bulls would have been defeated by the Lakers, knowing Jordan's competitive nature, he would have come back stronger and more focused than ever in the 1991-92 season. So the 1992 and 1993 championships still would have went to Chicago. But here is where it gets different. If Jordan only won back-to-back championships instead of the three-peat we all know from 1991-93, would he have left to play baseball? In my opinion, I don't believe he would. He would have looked to three-peat in 1994, which means that Chicago would have likely crossed paths with the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals. These two teams might have even played each other for the championship in both 1994 and 1995.

Where things could be more different is that after winning three or four championships in a row, perhaps Jordan would have taken a break from the game in 1996 or 1997. Or he might have stayed to see if he could close out the decade with seven or eight titles.

Whatever the case may be, Jordan would not have denied championship glory even if he lost in 1991. He was too good and he had too talented of a team for that to happen. What are your thoughts?

Reminiscing is fun,

LandoRigs

'What If?' Series #1 - Super Bowl XXV

To this day, my heart goes out to the man in the picture to your left. His name is Scott Norwood, a former placekicker for the Buffalo Bills in the 1990s. No matter what his accomplishments were in his profession, what most people will always remember when they hear his name is his missed field goal at the end of Super Bowl XXV that led to a 20-19 victory for the New York Giants that season.

As I thought about that game, it made me think just how different the NFL history of the 1990s might have been if the Bills were able to win that first of four consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl. What if the kick was good and Buffalo brought home its first Super Bowl crown in a 22-20 thriller? Just what if?

Buffalo had all the talent to be Super Bowl champions on a number of occasions in the early 90s. I remember Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Kenneth Davis, Andre Reed, Don Beebe, James Lofton, Bruce Smith, etc. But when they lost to the Giants, something happened. The next three times they played in the Super Bowl (vs Washington and vs Dallas twice) they did not even come close to winning. In fact, the three games weren't even competitive. Yet when AFC battles were on the line, the Bills were able to overcome the John Elway-led Denver Broncos, the Joe Montana-led Kansas City Chiefs, the Warren Moon-led Houston Oilers and Dan Marino-led Miami Dolphins. Those were impressive, hard-earned victories, especially the comeback against the Oilers. But when Buffalo played in the Super Bowl, it was as if they were a completely different team.

I would go so far as to say that if Buffalo had beaten the Giants, they may have also beaten Washington and may have taken one of two against Dallas. It is very possible because the idea that they had won the big one would have given them the confidence to get at least another title. With each loss in the Super Bowl, their dreams of becoming champions only seemed to become further and further out of reach until things just completely disintegrated within the organization. The Bills have not been anywhere near the Super Bowl after their last loss to Dallas in 1994. Buffalo has only made four more playoff appearances since with its last playoff appearance coming in the 1999 season. We are currently in 2014. Yikes!

So just a little something for sports fans to think about. We'll be having more 'What If?' posts as a weekly feature going forward. This could be fun.

Enjoy life,

LandoRigs