any given sunday

No matter what the oddsmakers say, on any given sunday any team can beat any other team. Coined by Bert Bell.

Actually, the origination of that concept on any given Sunday belongs to my dad, Jack Lavelle, a well-known sports figure in New York in the 1950s and the chief scout for the New York Football Giants. It is documented in a book about the great Giants teams of those years by New York Times reporter Gerald Eskenazi. Ironically, perhaps, I remember as a kid meeting his great friend Bert Bell, the NFL Commissioner.

Frequently misquoted November 1951 statement by Commissioner Bert Bell about parity in the National Football League.

According to an Associated Press report datelined Philadelphia 11/12/51, Bell actually said: "The teams are so closely matched that on any given Sunday, any one team can beat any other team. Professional football has come down to the point where the psychological edge is the determining factor. Physically these teams are even, so it depends on the mental outlook of the squads to determine the winner. It's this factor that has made the game close and is bringing fans out to the ball parks."