Football is a funny old game. Ultimately, at the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is wins/losses but, it's sometimes the silly little things that keep us engaged and entertained as the season goes on. NFL Scorigami is one of the many examples of those things. If you aren't already familiar with the term, NFL Scorigami occurs when a scoreline happens that has never happened before in the NFL. After existing for 104 years, it's not a very common occurrence, but the scoring system after all of these years make it still possible. Another one of those things, is the MacGuffin.
While I only heard about it this off-season, it's already added a little bit of excitement for me as we head into the 2024 season. This fun, quirky little imaginary trophy has gathered quite the cult following over the years and while teams may not be clambering to win the title (in fact, I'd imagine many teams don't even know they have it) there are a number of fans around the world who have kept track of its whereabouts. This isn't just a new topic to me. When I first learned about it, I went to the AAW group chats and even to my football friends around the world and quickly realised I was the only one at that point who knew what it was.
It's a reletively niche concept, but one that's still very intersting (well, to me at least) nonetheless.
What is a MacGuffin?
Origninally popularised by Alfred Hitchcock in the 1930s, the concept finds its origins in the film & TV world. Most movies you've watched have one, but it's likely you may not have even heard of it. MacGuffin simply refers to an object, event or character that serves to move the storyline along. It could be something completely inconsequential, something that feels almost central to the story but it exists almost solely to move the story along.
Examples of a MacGuffin could be the Horcruxes in Harry Potter, the Ark of the Covenant in Indiana Jones, the Golden Ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the briefcase in Pulp Fiction, or even the Titanic in The Titanic.
You: "Fletch, this is very interesting and all, but what does this have to do with football?"
Allow me introduce you to: the FOOTBALL MacGuffin.
What is a Football MacGuffin?
On the 6th of November 1869, Rutgers beat Princeton 6-4 in New Jersey in the first-ever game of college football. After the game, Princeton awared Rutgers with a little wooden box, believed to hold the 'formula for winning'. A week later, Princton beat Rutgers, winning 8-0. The small wooden box changed hands and thus, the college football MacGuffin was born.
Originally, the small, wooden box (sometimes referred to as the Rutgers trophy) was the MacGuffin. It was the small, generally inconsequential object that existed to drive the story forward. It provided that extra bit of motivation to beat whoever happened to be the holder.
While the box itself stopped circulating in the early 1900s, that hasn't stopped a group of individuals from tracking its journey, all the way to where it would be today. With that in mind, others have gone on to track the same thing for both the NFL and even then UFL. I'm yet to find a MacGuffin for the CFL or BritBall, so I can't comment on either of those.
Now we have a good idea of what the MacGuffins in football are, the question that remains is: where are they now?
The College Football MacGuffin
Current Holders: Michigan Wolverines.
Michigan didn't just beat the Washington Huskies to gain the National Championship on the 8th of January this year, they also took the CFBM off them too. Washington, who'd held it since the 12th of November '22, had been unbeaten in 17 games before losing to Michigan in the CFP Final.
Interesting facts About the CFBM:
The CFBM has changed hands a whopping 322 times in its history, being held by 98 different teams.
The longest holding streak (in days) belongs to Princeton. After they beat Rutgers 8-0 on the 13th November 1869, they went a whopping 2572 days before losing to Yale on the 30th November 1876. Despite such long streak as far as calendar days go, that streak only lasted 11 games.
The longest holding streak (games) belongs to Yale. On the 27th November 1890, Yale took the CFBM off Princeton again before having to hand it back to Princeton on the 30th of November 1893. This streak lasted 1092 days, but what's more impressive - is it lasted a whopping 36 games.
The most 'holds' of the CFBM is 12. A record that is jointly held by Washington & USC. They're cloesly followed by Alabama & LSU, who are then cloesly followed by Auburn and Harvard with 10. Washington & USC have both joined current holders Michigan in the Big10 this year.
7 Players in CFB History have completed the 'triple crown' of a Natty, Heisman, and MacGuffin at the same time. 1945 Doc Blanchard, 1946 Glenn Davis, 2004 Matt Leinhart, 2009 Mark Ingram, 2010 Cam Newton, 2019 Joe Burrow, 2020 DeVonta Smith.
Where could the CFBM end up this season?
National Champions Michigan went undefeated last season before taking the CFBM during the National Championship game. It doesn't look like they're very likely to earn back-to-back undefeated seasons, which, of course, means the CFBM is probably going to change hands this season. Texas in week 2, Oregon in week 10, and Ohio State in week 14 look like the most likely games for a CFBM handover. However, both Washington & USC are on Michigan's schedule this season and I'm sure Washington would love to get one back on Michigan after the CFP National Championship game, and USC would love to over take the Huskies as the first team to hold the CFBM 13 times.
The National Football MacGuffin
Current Holders: Kansas City Chiefs.
Much like the CFBM, the current champions are also the holders of the MacGuffin. However, this time, the NFLM wasn't won during the Super Bowl. The Chiefs took the NFLM off the Buffalo Bills this year during the divisional round of the playoffs on the 21st of January. The Chiefs then (narrowly, but successfully) defended the NFLM against the Ravens in the AFCCG and the 49ers in the Super Bowl.
Interesting facts About the NFLM:
Despite being tracked for over 50 years LESS than the CFBM, the NFLM has changed hands 589 times. That's 267 times more.
The Canton/Cleveland Bulldogs hold the record for the longest streak in days. Picking up the MacGuffin on the 29th of October 1922 before the Frankford Yellow Jackets took it off them on the 15th of November 1924. That's 748 days long. That's nearly DOUBLE the second place record where the New York Giants managed to keep hold of the MacGuffin for 391 days between the 9th of October 1938 and the 4th November 1939.
Unlike the CFBM, both of those records are also 1st and 2nd in the streak for games too. The Canton/Cleveland's 748 day streak saw them hold the MacGuffin through 25 games where the Giants' defence saw them last 14 games with the MacGuffin.
9 players hold the NFLM triple crown of NFL MVP, Super Bowl and finishing the season as a MacGuffin holder. 1938 Mel Hein, 1945 Bob Waterfield, 1966 Bart Starr, 1982 Mark Moseley, 1986 Lawrence Taylor, 1993 Emmitt Smith, 1994 Steve Young, 1999 Kurt Warner, 2022 Patrick Mahomes.
Where could the NFLM end up this season?
If you can't already tell by the fact the NFLM has changed hands nearly double as many times as the CFBM in 51 years less time; the NFLM tends to change hands a lot every season. This year will likely be no different. With a rematch of the AFCCG to kick the season off, the NFLM could very well change hands on the very first day of the season. In fact, that's exactly what happened the year before. The Chiefs ended the 2022 season holding the MacGuffin, then got beat by the Lions in the very first game of the season.
The United Football MacGuffin
Current Holders: Birmingham Stallions.
This MacGuffin is a little bit more interesting. The UFL only had its inaugral season this year after merging the USFL and the XFL in 2024. But, the way it ended up working made the whole thing a little easier to track. The opening game of the season saw the Stallions take on the Arlington Renegades on the 30th of March. Luckily for everyone, both of these franchises held their previous leagues MacGuffins, so the winner could legitimately boast the merged MacGuffins. The Stallions went on to win that game and almost looked like they'd retain the title throughout before losing to the San Antonio Brahmas in week 9. Luckily for Birmingham, they met again in the UFL Championship, where they could regain the UFLM.
Interesting facts About the UFLM:
The UFLM may have only ever had 2 holders, but you can trace the USFL & XFL back for many years in their previous lives. Though many teams are now defunct, or only went on to loosely exist in other parts of the country years later.
Where could the UFLM end up this season?
Only 8 teams will play in the 2025 UFL season over 2 conferences, the USFL/XFL. The Stallions will play the Panthers, Roughnecks and Showboats both home and away as well as playing the Renegades, Defenders, Brahmas and Battlehawks once. All teams will play each other at some point, so the UFLM could realistically end up anywhere.
CONCLUSION
All 3 championship holders are also MacGuffin holders, which when you think about it - makes sense. But, it's not all that regular an occurrence due to the way this game is scheduled. I can't wait to track them this year, so keep an eye out on my social media as I watch out keenly for the MacGuffin's whereabouts.
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