Not the worst. Barely.

One of the ways I demonstrate negative numbers to my students is to have them compute “plus/minus” numbers. As in, points scored (plus) and points scored against (minus). Obviously you want a big “plus” number, and the good teams have it. Bad teams have a “big” minus number. (Only the absolute value is big, kids; the numbers actually get smaller and smaller as you subtract.)

My hometown NFL team this season has scored, in total, 125 points in 10 games. That’s pretty awful. Worse is that they’ve given up 253.

(I’ll give you a minute.)

Yeah, negative 128.

Ouch.

Not the worst, however.

The Cincinnati Bengals (one of the worst franchises in sports history) this year have scored 147 points and given up 276.

Yup, it’s worse. Negative 129.

(This is tomorrow’s bellringer, by the way.)

So my local team is still not the worst.

Barely.

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About moc

My name is Mike O'Connell. I am 41 years old and live in Northern Virginia. I am a teacher, a musician, and an enthusiast of all things American.

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