Single or Seven

      Many fans and commentators say that the two best words in sports are "game seven". Such an assessment is difficult to dispute. Who does not love a high-stakes, winner-takes-all scenario?

      However, in my most humble of opinions, I do believe that there are two better words: single elimination. Or we could even come up with a phrase that may be better: win or go home.

     That is the premise of today's writing. With the NBA and NHL playoffs currently going on, the question has been raised in other circles: Is a best-of-seven series format better than a single-elimination playoff system?

     To me, the answer is simply, no.

     I love a seven game series, without question. I love watching the uphill battle that an underdog team must encounter by trying to nab four wins off of a much more favored foe. Who would not like to watch some of the game's greatest go at it at least four, possibly even seven times?

     But one thing that can be said for, not just the sporting public, but the American public, is that Americans love drama. It is human to be inspired by things that we do not know or cannot predict. It is impossible to know what can happen in one game, but that is the adventure that - whether we care to admit or not - we all crave. The feeling of a one game playoff is similar to the sensation experienced when nearing the front of the line of a rollercoaster. We know that what is to come will be crazy and, in the eyes of some, fun. But it is the excitement that can be fulfilling. That is what we have come to expect from competitions such as the NFL postseason or the NCAA tournament.

     A single-game format is better for the fact that so much can happen.

     Underdogs that - on paper - have seemingly no chance at all, do not have to contend with beating the best four times - something that is quite unlikely in most instances. Beating a heavily favored team is an uphill climb. Beating a stronger squad on four occasions in a short time span makes reaching the top of that grassy hill seem like needing to scale to the snow-capped summit of Mount Everest.

     The best part of the NFL postseason is that, genuinely, anything can happen. But it is tough to imagine "anything" happening four times.

     Could the 2007 Giants have beaten the New England Patriots four times? Probably not. Could a five-seed in the 2008 Cardinals have reached he Super Bowl by winning games four times over? Most likely, no. Could the Ravens have won it all in 2013 if they had to do four times as much? My guess would be no.

     So what is my point in saying all of this?

     There is more of an opportunity for less-fancied teams in the single-elimination format. It is for that reason that I prefer such a system, because, now, there are no days off. The favorites have to show up ready to play. The emotion and the tension are ratcheted up, because we know that each game is like a small championship.

     So to have this article finish where we started, what is better than a game seven?

     Skipping games one through six and cutting right to that game seven.