What If Sports Simulations

by Ted Glover on Nov 26, 2009 6:16 PM CST

So, I ran some game simulations between the Vikes-Saints and the Vikes-Colts over at whatifsports.com. I ran 10 games against the Saints on a neutral field, 10 games in Minnesota, and 10 games at New Orleans. For the Vikes-Colts, it was 10 games on a neutral field.

The neutral field I chose was Joe Robbie (Land Shark) Stadium in Miami, because, well, you know, it just seemed like a good field to pick. Not that there's any correlation to my choosing of that stadium and where the Super Bowl is going to be played.

Anyways, on a neutral field, the Vikes beat the Saints 6 out of 10 times. In New Orleans, Saints won 6 of 10. In Minnesota, Vikes won 6 out of 10.

Against the Colts, on a neutral field, Vikes won 7 out of 10.

What does this mean? It means running simulation games of the Vikings is more entertaining than the real live Thanksgiving Day games the NFL is playing. God, are the Raiders and the Lions horrible.

Oh, and the 75 Vikings beat the 75 Steelers 6 out of 10 times on a neutral field. Drew Pearson can rot in Hell.

On that happy note, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.

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good to see ya slip in a post today CardFan

And happy thanksgiving to you.
oh ya, Drew Pearsons room awaits him in hell.
One of the worst non-calls ever!

A bird in the hand is worth about 10.99 at KFC and makes me lick my chops
Yummy!!!!!

by kdog69 on Nov 26, 2009 6:30 PM CST reply actions

Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. It’s weird that some 34 years later that Hail Mary still pisses me off. I mean, it genuinely makes me angry. All the other things that the Vikings have had go against them, that’s the only wound that time does not heal.

Drew Freakin’ Pearson…

"We're used to Favre-a-palooza now. We're engulfed in Favre-a-palooza. It's not even Favre-a-palooza anymore. He's family now."

--Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe, on Brett Favre

by Ted Glover on Nov 26, 2009 7:22 PM CST up reply actions

Drew Pearson...

willed be joined in hell by that referee who cowardly put the flag back in his pocket…I hope his head still hurts…

by purplegrey on Nov 26, 2009 8:22 PM CST reply actions

And Happy Thanksgiving to you my friend, and my thoughts on Pearson exactly!

"If you're gonna shoot, shoot, don't talk."
"That is the craziest sonofabitch I ever saw, how many more like him do you think are up there?"
"We have clearance Clearance. Roger Rodger, what's our vector Victor?"

by VikesFaninNM on Nov 26, 2009 8:58 PM CST reply actions

Happy Turkey Day folks!

And yeah, I’m with you on that Pearson sentiment…. Talk about stolen moments…

Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!

by DCPurple on Nov 26, 2009 9:50 PM CST reply actions

Im a lil young

So whats the deal with this Drew Pearson guy?

Purple Haze is the worlds greatest Natural Resource.

by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 26, 2009 10:19 PM CST reply actions

This is what I think about it.

"What is best in life?"
"To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."

by cryhavoc on Nov 26, 2009 10:26 PM CST reply actions

Do you photoshop pics all the time

Or do you find these?, because they’re so good and crazy I swear that they’re photoshopped

Purple Haze is the worlds greatest Natural Resource.

by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 26, 2009 10:55 PM CST up reply actions

gotta go at least to a hundred per site

10 is far too small a sample size for a simulation like this.

but congratulations on an actual fanpost, i enjoyed this.

Lurking since 2006

by boyonthedock on Nov 27, 2009 1:06 AM CST reply actions

Not really.

100 coin flips can determine the fairness of a coin. 1 football game has more than 100 events in it with multiple possessions by each team, and the max. # of games played by an NFL team in a real season is 16-20, so the 30 MN-NO simulations was probably extensive enough to avoid a small sample size.

by KC Viking on Nov 28, 2009 3:01 PM CST up reply actions

but you see how a 6-4 result is essentially meaningless

according to the number of simulations you ran, basically either team could win any game. Statistically, the difference between 6-4 and 5-5 is essentially zero for probability purposes, but enormous in actual football purpose. this is far too small a sample size. the number of variables you list only makes it more necessary to have more similarities.

Lurking since 2006

by boyonthedock on Nov 29, 2009 11:49 AM CST up reply actions

simulations, not larities.

Lurking since 2006

by boyonthedock on Nov 29, 2009 11:50 AM CST up reply actions

Either team could win

Yes, that is why they play the games. It was very statistically improbable that the Red Sox came back from 0-3 to win the ALCS a few years ago, too. The difference between a 5-5 team and a 6-4 team is and should be considerably less than that. Also, because of schedule issues, the 5-5 team may be better than the 6-4 team, and that may play out over the next 6 games; therefore, the difference should be virtually zero in that case.

If the simulator is simulating play by play, then that is also going to be fairly reliable. Detailed results would have a road map for what could happen after an improbable event early on such as a fumbled kickoff.

by KC Viking on Dec 5, 2009 2:12 PM CST up reply actions