Playoff expansion has been a constant in baseball for the past 52 years. The playoffs expanded for the first time in Major League history in 1969 when four teams from the National and American Leagues qualified for the post season and each split its teams into two divisions.

It’s been 214 days since the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, and tonight the professional football season finally gets under way as the Packers take on the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field in a matchup of the latest two Super Bowl winners.