I grew up with European soccer where the regular season is all you get (i.e. the team with the most points wins it all, no knock out competition, no playoffs).
This rewards the best team every year but means the end of the season can be tedious and dead for the vast majority of teams (at least those not involved in relegation - that's something else).
I love the playoffs, it gives hope to half the league and when you throw in the salary cap and draft it really does become a lottery.
Any Given Sunday means if you can sneak into the playoffs then 3 hot/lucky games and your in the superbowl. Amazing.
So as a fan every season my expectations for the Pack are to reach the playoffs. Do that and you've bought a lottery ticket and from then who knows what can happen.
This season shows what can happen in the space of one game - The winless Bucs beat the Pack who then beat the NFC East leading Cowboys.
The perfect Saints are within a chip shot field goal defeat to the hapless Redkins and the Oakland Raiders defeat the world champion Steelers.
Who said parity was dead in the NFL?