Pack93z
You retired too? .... Not me. I'm in my prime
Subjective I know.. but it backs our contention. 
coldhardfootballfacts.com ranking of franchises..
24. DETROIT LIONS
Lions overview:
The Lions in modern times are known only for futility. After all, among all the teams that have been in the NFL every year since the creation of the Super Bowl, they’re one of just three franchises that have failed to reach the big game (the others are the once-proud Browns and the always embarrassing Cardinals, No. 32 with a bullet on your franchise rankings list).
The fact that the Lions have won a truly Cardinals-esque one (1) playoff game since the 1957 championship game speaks to the modern futility of the organization, annually one of the league laughingstocks.
But a bevy of great past players, not to mention a claim to “team-of-the-decade” status in the 1950s (three championships), keeps the Lions out of the sad-sack basement of defeat and humiliation inhabited by the basement-dwelling shut-ins of the NFL like Arizona, New Orleans ... and, well, you.
15. MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Vikings overview:
The Vikings have consistently been one of the best, most competitive and most talent-laden teams in the NFL, as evidenced by their .549 all-time franchise record (sixth best among the 32 NFL teams).
But they’ve never quite made the big time, either, as evidenced by their zero championships, four Super Bowl losses, and four other losses in NFC championship games.
And then the Vikings gave up their greatest ally, the brutal Minnesota winters, and it’s been all downhill since there: zero Super Bowl appearances and three NFC title-game losses since moving into the Metrodome back in 1982.
All of which makes the Vikings one of the most infuriating teams to have followed. They’ve given their fans more to cheer about than most other teams – at least in the regular season, yet they’re the only team in our Top 18 that can't boast a single championship. But they earn a spot in the top half of our rankings because they’ve fielded so many great teams.
Now if they had only beat the Chiefs that day …
4. CHICAGO BEARS
Bears overview:
The Bears are one of the small handful of teams that surprised us when we stepped back and looked at their entire history. Sure, we knew they were one of the original NFL franchises and had a long and storied history. But age doesn’t mean everything or insure success. Simply look at the Cardinals, the only team other than the Bears that’s been in the NFL since its inception. They're ranked No. 32. We also knew that the Bears have provided more than their fare share of great teams, great players and great contributions to football lore.
But their relative lack of success in the Super Bowl Era (one championship) tends to cause people, including us, to forget that the Bears:
have won a record 677 games, 40 more victories than the Packers (the No. 2 team on the victory list)
still boast the third-best winning percentage in league history (.577), better than every other team but the Donnies- and Tommies-come-late from Miami and Dallas.
The Bears, in other words, have produced competitive teams over a longer period than any other franchise. They’ve fielded a veritable who’s who of NFL legends. They helped usher in modern offense with the T-formation (which produced a record 73-0 win over the Redskins in the 1940 championship game). They boasted some of the most dominant teams in league history. They’ve twice won back-to-back championships. And their nine NFL titles are second only to the Packers (12).
The Bears might have been the greatest franchise in NFL history.
But they’re not, because too often they’ve fallen short when it mattered most.
The Bears produced two of the four teams in the NFL's title-game-era history (since 1933) to march through the regular season undefeated (1934, 1942). But both of those teams lost in the championship game, both shocking upsets along the lines of the Patriots falling to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
Many other Bears teams – as the franchise's third-best overall record indicates – were good enough to win championships but didn’t, including several of their famouse defensive clubs in the 1980s. As a result, the Bears have won just 16 postseason games in their history. To put those 16 postseason victories since 1920 into perspective, consider that the Patriots have won 14 postseason games since 2001. And the bulk of the franchise’s success came in its first 30 years. The Bears have won just two NFL championships – and only a single Super Bowl – over the past 62 seasons. That’s not good, folks.
But even when they’re not winning titles, the Bears have remained a flagship franchise that’s consistently competitive, that's second in league history with nine championships, and that may have contributed more than any other organization to the history and growth of the sport.
1. GREEN BAY PACKERS
Packers overview:
As much as you might like to find a “controversial” pick at the top of our (or anybody else’s) all-time franchise rankings, there simply is no way to justify selecting any other organization other than the Packers.
In fact, we could have put a “controversial” team in the No. 1 spot just to get a rise out of people and stir up a hornet’s nest of head-scratching hype. But then we’d be no better than the hairy-palmed hacks at ESPN and would not be a doing a service to you, our readers.
The truth is that only one team belongs at the top.
From the time the Acme Packing Co. first fielded an NFL team in 1921, right through to the overtime loss in the 2007 NFC championship game, the Packers have been a powerhouse on pro football playing fields.
Green Bay met with success instantly: the Packers fielded just one team with a losing record from their debut season of 1921 through 1947 (5-7-1 in 1933).
Green Bay has also met with success recently: the Packers fielded just one team with a losing record from Brett Favre’s debut season of 1992 through 2007 (4-12 in 2005).
(A bit of trivia: The Packers are the only existing franchise, with the Dolphins, to march through an entire NFL season undefeated. The 1929 Packers went 12-0-1 to earn the first of three-straight league championships in the pre-title-game era, when the championship was simply handed to the team with the best record. The Dolphins, of course, went 17-0 in 1972, capping the season with a win in Super Bowl VII.)
Green Bay's contributions to pro football lore are unmatched:
The Packers play in the most famous arena in football, named for their founder, first star player, first great coach (arguably its greatest) and the man who willed football into this little Great Lakes harbor town: Earl “Curly” Lambeau.
The Super Bowl trophy is named for Green Bay's 1960s coach, Vince Lombardi, one of the great icons of the game and a symbol of old-school American values whose reputation extends beyond sport.
The Packers have won more titles than any other team (12). They’re the only organization to win three straight NFL championships, and they’ve done it twice: Green Bay won three straight from 1929-31, in the pre-title-game era, and then did it again from 1965 to 1967.
When the modern NFL was born in 1966 with the first AFL-NFL championship the Packers, naturally, won the first two Super Bowls.
And from Blood McNally to Brett Favre, the Packers roster has read like a who’s who of legends decade after decade.
Yet the greatest attribute of the Packers is not just the two different dynasties they’ve fielded, the record 12 championships, or the cast of legendary characters who have worn green and gold.
The greatest attribute of the Packers, instead, is that they’re the last vestige of the small-town Midwestern roots of pro football. While the Dayton Triangles and Duluth Eskimos of the football world have been ground into dust, the Packers have persevered and excelled against all odds. In a sports world otherwise dominated by big egos with big dollars from big cities, teams from the Big Apple and the Big D have never been quite as good as the publicly owned non-profit club from little Green Bay.
Nearly a century later, the team pulled together in this frosty, isolated Midwestern harbor town by Curly Lambeau and the Acme Packing Co. remains a dominant force on the field and in the culture and lore of American sport.
coldhardfootballfacts.com ranking of franchises..
24. DETROIT LIONS
Lions overview:
The Lions in modern times are known only for futility. After all, among all the teams that have been in the NFL every year since the creation of the Super Bowl, they’re one of just three franchises that have failed to reach the big game (the others are the once-proud Browns and the always embarrassing Cardinals, No. 32 with a bullet on your franchise rankings list).
The fact that the Lions have won a truly Cardinals-esque one (1) playoff game since the 1957 championship game speaks to the modern futility of the organization, annually one of the league laughingstocks.
But a bevy of great past players, not to mention a claim to “team-of-the-decade” status in the 1950s (three championships), keeps the Lions out of the sad-sack basement of defeat and humiliation inhabited by the basement-dwelling shut-ins of the NFL like Arizona, New Orleans ... and, well, you.
15. MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Vikings overview:
The Vikings have consistently been one of the best, most competitive and most talent-laden teams in the NFL, as evidenced by their .549 all-time franchise record (sixth best among the 32 NFL teams).
But they’ve never quite made the big time, either, as evidenced by their zero championships, four Super Bowl losses, and four other losses in NFC championship games.
And then the Vikings gave up their greatest ally, the brutal Minnesota winters, and it’s been all downhill since there: zero Super Bowl appearances and three NFC title-game losses since moving into the Metrodome back in 1982.
All of which makes the Vikings one of the most infuriating teams to have followed. They’ve given their fans more to cheer about than most other teams – at least in the regular season, yet they’re the only team in our Top 18 that can't boast a single championship. But they earn a spot in the top half of our rankings because they’ve fielded so many great teams.
Now if they had only beat the Chiefs that day …
4. CHICAGO BEARS
Bears overview:
The Bears are one of the small handful of teams that surprised us when we stepped back and looked at their entire history. Sure, we knew they were one of the original NFL franchises and had a long and storied history. But age doesn’t mean everything or insure success. Simply look at the Cardinals, the only team other than the Bears that’s been in the NFL since its inception. They're ranked No. 32. We also knew that the Bears have provided more than their fare share of great teams, great players and great contributions to football lore.
But their relative lack of success in the Super Bowl Era (one championship) tends to cause people, including us, to forget that the Bears:
have won a record 677 games, 40 more victories than the Packers (the No. 2 team on the victory list)
still boast the third-best winning percentage in league history (.577), better than every other team but the Donnies- and Tommies-come-late from Miami and Dallas.
The Bears, in other words, have produced competitive teams over a longer period than any other franchise. They’ve fielded a veritable who’s who of NFL legends. They helped usher in modern offense with the T-formation (which produced a record 73-0 win over the Redskins in the 1940 championship game). They boasted some of the most dominant teams in league history. They’ve twice won back-to-back championships. And their nine NFL titles are second only to the Packers (12).
The Bears might have been the greatest franchise in NFL history.
But they’re not, because too often they’ve fallen short when it mattered most.
The Bears produced two of the four teams in the NFL's title-game-era history (since 1933) to march through the regular season undefeated (1934, 1942). But both of those teams lost in the championship game, both shocking upsets along the lines of the Patriots falling to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
Many other Bears teams – as the franchise's third-best overall record indicates – were good enough to win championships but didn’t, including several of their famouse defensive clubs in the 1980s. As a result, the Bears have won just 16 postseason games in their history. To put those 16 postseason victories since 1920 into perspective, consider that the Patriots have won 14 postseason games since 2001. And the bulk of the franchise’s success came in its first 30 years. The Bears have won just two NFL championships – and only a single Super Bowl – over the past 62 seasons. That’s not good, folks.
But even when they’re not winning titles, the Bears have remained a flagship franchise that’s consistently competitive, that's second in league history with nine championships, and that may have contributed more than any other organization to the history and growth of the sport.
1. GREEN BAY PACKERS
Packers overview:
As much as you might like to find a “controversial” pick at the top of our (or anybody else’s) all-time franchise rankings, there simply is no way to justify selecting any other organization other than the Packers.
In fact, we could have put a “controversial” team in the No. 1 spot just to get a rise out of people and stir up a hornet’s nest of head-scratching hype. But then we’d be no better than the hairy-palmed hacks at ESPN and would not be a doing a service to you, our readers.
The truth is that only one team belongs at the top.
From the time the Acme Packing Co. first fielded an NFL team in 1921, right through to the overtime loss in the 2007 NFC championship game, the Packers have been a powerhouse on pro football playing fields.
Green Bay met with success instantly: the Packers fielded just one team with a losing record from their debut season of 1921 through 1947 (5-7-1 in 1933).
Green Bay has also met with success recently: the Packers fielded just one team with a losing record from Brett Favre’s debut season of 1992 through 2007 (4-12 in 2005).
(A bit of trivia: The Packers are the only existing franchise, with the Dolphins, to march through an entire NFL season undefeated. The 1929 Packers went 12-0-1 to earn the first of three-straight league championships in the pre-title-game era, when the championship was simply handed to the team with the best record. The Dolphins, of course, went 17-0 in 1972, capping the season with a win in Super Bowl VII.)
Green Bay's contributions to pro football lore are unmatched:
The Packers play in the most famous arena in football, named for their founder, first star player, first great coach (arguably its greatest) and the man who willed football into this little Great Lakes harbor town: Earl “Curly” Lambeau.
The Super Bowl trophy is named for Green Bay's 1960s coach, Vince Lombardi, one of the great icons of the game and a symbol of old-school American values whose reputation extends beyond sport.
The Packers have won more titles than any other team (12). They’re the only organization to win three straight NFL championships, and they’ve done it twice: Green Bay won three straight from 1929-31, in the pre-title-game era, and then did it again from 1965 to 1967.
When the modern NFL was born in 1966 with the first AFL-NFL championship the Packers, naturally, won the first two Super Bowls.
And from Blood McNally to Brett Favre, the Packers roster has read like a who’s who of legends decade after decade.
Yet the greatest attribute of the Packers is not just the two different dynasties they’ve fielded, the record 12 championships, or the cast of legendary characters who have worn green and gold.
The greatest attribute of the Packers, instead, is that they’re the last vestige of the small-town Midwestern roots of pro football. While the Dayton Triangles and Duluth Eskimos of the football world have been ground into dust, the Packers have persevered and excelled against all odds. In a sports world otherwise dominated by big egos with big dollars from big cities, teams from the Big Apple and the Big D have never been quite as good as the publicly owned non-profit club from little Green Bay.
Nearly a century later, the team pulled together in this frosty, isolated Midwestern harbor town by Curly Lambeau and the Acme Packing Co. remains a dominant force on the field and in the culture and lore of American sport.
