[Passacaglia]

The year is 1970. Excitement over the AFL-NFL merger has come to a head, with four successful Super Bowl games played before the merger. The leagues decided that when they come together, they should look at all possible avenues for expansion, and accelerate the schedules so that they all happen in the inaugural season of the new combined NFL. The league will also restart the "Super Bowl" count, so that the new Super Bowl I will be played at the end of the 1970 season.

In order to maintain balance between the AFL and the NFL, each league needs to have the same number of teams. Since the NFL has 16 teams, and the AFL has 10, several proposals were made involving three teams switching from the NFL to the AFL, culminating in the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers making the move. These proposals were eventually scrapped, and it was determined that the NFL would keep all 16 of its teams, and the AFL would add six new expansion teams. This would allow the NFL to maintain its reputation as a "classic" league while the AFL could be billed as a more "modern" league. That said, the AFL now welcomes the following six expansion teams to its ranks:

1. Carolina Panthers
2. Indiana Flyers
3. Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Seattle Seahawks
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6. Tennessee Titans

Also at this time, the Washington Redskins have taken this opportunity to switch to a less offensive nickname, and have changed their name to the Washington Senators, in honor of the Washington team from 1921, the first season of the NFL.

Each 16-team league will be split into two 8-team divisions, and both leagues take this chance to realign in order to obtain geographical balance. As of press time, both leagues are still deciding between a North-South or an East-West split.

Here is how the NFL would look with each split:

North -- Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers
South -- Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Senators

East -- Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Senators
West -- Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Cardinals

And here's how the AFL would look:

North -- Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Indiana Flyers, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks
South -- Carolina Panthers, Houston Oilers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans

East -- Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
West -- Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers, Indiana Flyers, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans

While the division alignment is not fully decided, the schedule philosophy has been set. Teams will play 16 games in 16 weeks in a schedule designed to eliminate the possibility of rematches in the Super Bowl, and minimize the possibility of them in the playoffs. In Week 1, teams will play the team that finished in the same position as them in the other division, and in Weeks 2-8, teams will play a round-robin of everyone else in their own division. The 2nd half of the schedule will be the same as the first, with home and away teams flipped. The 4 division champions will make the playoffs, and the winner of each semifinal game will advance to the Super Bowl.

The six expansion teams, having very little time to assemble a roster and coaching staff, are not expected to be competitive in this inaugural 1970 season, but hope to grow into fully functioning members of the league in time.