Wild Card "Champions" logos

[cmm]

I rather like "Wild Card" as a name. It denotes a certain amount of whimsy and seat-of-your-pantsness, which is fitting for the final floating playoff spot.

What would you have in mind for its replacement?

I can't think of anything else - but if we weren't so used to the term thanks to the NFL, would anyone really name it that? I understand why they thought to call it that, it just sounds kind of a silly title for something that (at least in baseball) is a pretty nice accomplishment.

National League Qualifier?

[omnivore]

In my sim games, I've bandied about effectively creating a division within a division with the wild card being named the Commissioner's Division or Presidents Division and giving the Wild Card winner that title. I once ran an online league where we wanted to avoid the wild card nomenclature and called the winners of the respective leagues (Continental and Republic) the Continental Cup and Republic Shield winners (neither were champions, just winners...)

I do think the wild card term is most clumsy in baseball, but it's so established in sports...though basketball and hockey generally seem to avoid it because of how many teams get into the playoffs I guess. I've seen teams with temporary banners signifying their wild card playoff appearances though, so there's that.

[Brian E]

So if you are the wild card "champion" does that mean you were excluded from playing for the division championship? Or you didn't try to win it?

I don't mind a pennant like Milwaukee's stating wild card.

That's a good representation of making the playoffs.

I do dislike NLDS winner on the Mets wall.

Winning a playoff round merits a banner (or banner mention)?

The Astros "division series champion" ranks right up there with the Billy Joel banners as the dumbest I have ever seen.

Following that would be any NHL "regular season champions or ________ conference regular season champion" banner.

in fairness to the mets' 1999 banner, it denotes wild card and NLDS winner on the same banner. so, it's not like they have a seperate banner for winning a playoff series. you may be aware of that already, but if not, it might at least ease your dislike of it since it's essentially doing the same thing as the milwaukee banner.

[TxRangersFan]

To add to this craziness...

Inside the AAC, the Dallas Stars have a banner that says:

2003 WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS (REGULAR SEASON)

It's one thing to recognize a DIVISION championship which is won in the regular season. That's acceptable. And if they had the most regular-season points in the LEAGUE, thus earning the Presidents' Trophy, that would be just fine as well. But this banner goes over the line, if you ask me. Conference championships are earned in the PLAYOFFS, not in the regular season.

BTW, Ottawa won the Presidents' Trophy, with 113 points. Dallas had 111.

[rams80]

"Wild Card Champions" is stupid because there is no such thing. You can't be a champion of something that requires you falling short of the top in order to "win". It's a consolation prize for the best team that couldn't win its division - so it's like a prize for losing, but still being good. That completely defys the definition of "champion". It's like tournaments when the two teams who lose the semi-finals play each other to determine which team finishes in third place - does that team then become the "third place champion?"

Wild Card Winner, Wild Card, etc. is fine for a flag - but Champion? That's simply stupid, and I can't really see the other side of this one.

Off topic - does anyone else hate the term "wild card"? Can't they come up with anything better?

No, not really, because

/Yeeeeeehaaawww