It's Football Season...Those Darn Falcons!

This is how I feel about my "great seat" tickets right about now. 

I am an Atlanta Falcons ENTHUSIAST.  As an Atlanta native, I am a true "Dirty Bird", win or lose.  After a dazzling season last year, I was terribly disappointed at this year's 0-4 record (so far).  So, I stumbled upon a problem I could share with some of my teachers to investigate in their classrooms.  Maybe listening to some of the students' brilliant observations will help me to not be such a "sore loser."  DARN FALCONS!

Do Teams That Spend a Lot Win a Lot? 

*Credit: www.yummymath.com                  

First ask students to look at the table below.  What do you notice?  What does it make you wonder?

Team	Team Payroll	Wins	Sport	Season
N.Y. Yankees	$223,302,212	95	MLB	2012
Oakland A's	$59,493,290	94	MLB	2012
Philadelphia Flyers	$71,072,500	47	NHL	2011 - 12
New York Islanders	$29,573,500	34	NHL	2011 - 12
Minnesota Vikings	$123,553,646	10	NFL	2011 - 12
Jacksonville Jaguars	$92,768,120	2	NFL	2011 - 12
New York Knicks	$117,024,192	36	NBA	2011 - 12
Charlotte Bobcats	$38,032,540	7	NBA	2011 - 12

In this activity students compare team wins with team salaries in the four major North American sports … the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL.  Students use data from recent seasons to create scatter plots comparing wins and salaries for each sport.  You can run the lesson anyway you wish.