The Mason Minute

The Mason Minute


Wild Card (MM #5409)

January 12, 2026

The first round of the NFL playoffs wrapped up tonight. It’s called the Wild Card round. And that rubs me the wrong way. While yes, every wildcard team plays, so do the majority of division-winning teams. I understand branding and marketing. I’ve been involved with that almost my entire life. So I understand why they have a name. I don’t know why it’s the wild card. In baseball, the wildcard round only involves those teams that didn’t win the division. Perhaps there’s a better name for this first round of the playoffs. Next week, it’s the divisional round, which makes a little more sense…

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