What's a good movie with a terrible ending? Not great, right?
So what would a 15-1 season be if it was followed by anything less than a trip to the Super Bowl?
Most would label it disappointing. Others could say it ultimately didn't mean a thing.
"I disagree. I think that is extreme," Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera said Friday.
"What we did, 15-1, nobody can take away. As far as I'm concerned, we're moving from the regular season to the now. The most important thing now is every game you're 0-0. You win, you keep going. You lose, now you're staying home. But what we did, hey, we accomplished something special. But the focus now is playing the game today. What's coming this week, that's important."
The Panthers are just the sixth team to go 15-1 since the NFL went to 16 regular-season games in 1978. Of the first five, only two made it to a Super Bowl. When they did, the 1984 49ers and Rivera's 1985 Bears won it.
What happened to the other 15-1 teams?
The 1998 Vikings and 2004 Steelers fell in their conference championships. The 2011 Packers went out in the divisional round.
So 15 wins don't guarantee a thing.
"Regardless of the record, regardless of how we've won, who we beat, the bottom line is we have two home games. If we win one home game, we're a home game away from the Super Bowl," tight end Greg Olsen said. "Those opportunities don't come along often in this league and you've got to take advantage in it. The only thing we've done is put ourselves in position to have this chance."
That chance doesn't guarantee anything, either, but history shows it does provide a considerable advantage.
Since the NFL moved to a 12-team playoff format in 1990, No. 1 seeds in the NFC are 21-4 in the divisional round. The last top seed to go one-and-one was the last to go 15-1 — those 2011 Packers. So if the Panthers fall to the Seahawks on Sunday, they won't be alone.
That's obviously a thought few inside the locker room wanted to waste time considering, but the question 'is a 15-1 season ultimately a disappointment if it doesn't turn into a Super Bowl?' was fair game.
"Nah, why should it be? We got to the playoffs. We got a bye. We got a home game. We clinched No. 1 in the NFC. A lot of things we've done. We broke numerous records,” cornerback Josh Norman said, before adding, "But I do feel like if you don't reach the ultimate goal of the Super Bowl, yeah, you can look at it as a disappointment."
Linebacker Thomas Davis agreed.
"It's a special season we've had so far, but we've got to go out and finish it," he said.
Ultimately, it's not really a black and white thing.
It's fair to acknowledge 15-1 as something special. History shows the Panthers are unlikely to do it again. But if they don't follow it up with a win in the Super Bowl, or at least make it there, it's also fair to walk away with a feeling of disappointment.
The movie would have been good, but it wasn't great.
"We crashed the party, but we've got a ticket. The ticket says you're in. What you do from that point, that's up to you," Rivera said.
"You earned the right to be here, now you've got to stay here."