Chargers won struggle to stay in AFC, but Seahawks cashed in

DETROIT -- Most people here want to talk about the roles Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck played in Seattle's first-ever trip to the Super Bowl. Not me. I want to know about the San Diego Chargers.

You heard me.

The Chargers faced the longer, tougher road in the AFC West in 2005. (Getty Images)

Without the Chargers, the Seahawks don't represent the NFC. They represent the AFC. But tell me how you like their chances of making it to the top in a division with Denver, Oakland and Kansas City and conference playoffs that included Pittsburgh, New England and Indianapolis.

Yeah? Me, neither. But it could've happened, folks, if San Diego hadn't acted.

Rewind the videotape to 2001 when realignment was the hot topic of discussion in the NFL, with San Diego or Seattle destined to leave the AFC to make room for Houston, the league's 32nd franchise. Neither was all that interested, with San Diego adamant that it remain in the AFC West.

Most of the league's owners agreed, but Seattle was stubborn and pushed the idea of San Diego moving anyway -- with the Chargers refusing to budge.

"Seniority played a role in all the discussions," said Chargers president Dean Spanos. "They wanted to sell their fans on a new stadium with the balance in the division and the rivalries -- and keeping all of that intact. Our position was the same."

Only the Chargers' position was stronger.

They were one of the original members of the AFC West. Seattle was not. In fact, Seattle wasn't one of the original members of the AFC. When the Seahawks joined the league in 1976 as an expansion franchise, they joined as a member of the NFC. OK, so it was for only a year. But San Diego's point resonated with the league.

Rivalries were more important to the Chargers because they'd been involved in them longer -- almost two decades longer (think AFL). And they weren't interested in jumping into a division with St. Louis, San Francisco and Arizona (which switched divisions in 2002) -- no matter what the competitive advantages might be.

"Keeping those rivalries intact seemed more important," said Spanos.

So San Diego stayed in a division where it was 9-7 and the third-best team this season. Seattle moved to a division where it was the only winning member and where it has won 15 of its past 19, including all six this year.

Now the Seahawks are in their first Super Bowl, and more power to them. They took advantage of an opportunity, and the evidence, please: Seattle played only five opponents this year with a winning record and played the softest schedule out there -- with opponents combining for a .430 winning percentage.