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Chris Oakley said:
In order to include the '88 Bengals,I might have had to omit the '85 Bears or '86 Giants.Likewise,putting in the '81 Bengals would have meant leaving out the '81 49ers.
Anyhow,let me give you some insight as to why each of the Virtual Tournament's contestants was picked:
2001 Patriots--C'mon,you didn't seriously think I'd leave the Pats out,did ya?



I wouldn't suggest the Pats get left out.

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1998 Falcons--The first NFC South team to reach the Super Bowl.



Why not include the 2002 Bucs instead? They were the first and only NFC South team to WIN the Super Bowl. And the Falcons were still in the NFC West in 1998.

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1994 Chargers--To give them a second chance at the brass ring,so to speak.



Not good enough. They didn't belong on the same field with those 49ers.

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1981 49ers--This game put the Niners in general and Joe Montana in particular on NFL fans' radar for the first time.



Wasn't even their best 49er team. No running game to speak of. If the Bengals get their act together in the first half, Bengals take home the title. Yeah, I know, they didn't, but in this virtual thingie you're creating, if you can pull reasons for inclusion out of your ass, then so can I.

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1985 Bears--The closest any team has come to a perfect NFL record since the '72 Dolphins(who I'll get to shortly).



Hate to break it to you, but the 1984 49ers went 15-1 and won the Super Bowl.

We all wear a green carnation.