The Chiefs don’t have to become permanent members of this club, of course, and they may well not: They have Patrick Mahomes as the quarterback, and as a result they are going to be awfully good for years to come. And all it takes is a properly timed winning streak (and maybe not getting too cute on the goal line) for that to happen. 

So we won’t put them in this group. Yet. 

But they are eligible. And “this group” is a curious one. On the one hand, they are all champions — and it’s impossible not to celebrate any team that wins a championship, even if it’s only one. But it’s that word — “only” — that sticks in the craw. Because all of these teams had the goods and the chops to win more — in some cases, much more — and didn’t. And often, that’s what’s most remembered. 

So here’s the group the Chiefs are hoping to avoid: champs who still live a lingering sense of “what-if” in their wake, 

Really, they and the Bears of the same timeline are the 1 and 1A of this group. From 1984-91, the Mets averaged 95 wins a year, they featured the game’s best rotation and among its most intimidating lineup. But they have only one title to show for it — 1986, and they even needed some epic, celestial help to win that one. 

The Mets were favored to win the NL East in every one of those years (save for 1984). They won just twice, beaten out in September five times by the Cardinals, Cubs and Pirates. And though they probably had the best team in 1988, they couldn’t escape the Dodgers, who went 1-10 against them in the regular season. 

They were the Mets’ football cousins — brash, swaggering, and in their championship season of 1985, dominant, with a 15-1 record. And they didn’t need anyone’s help in the playoffs, stomping the Giants, Rams and Patriots by a combined 91-10. From 1984-91 the Bears won 10 or more games seven out of eight years, yet only made that one Super Bowl, twice losing in the NFL Championship. 

It was a combination of injury and bad luck that conspired to keep them away from a run of dominance everyone expected for them — as well as the corresponding rise in their own conference by the 49ers, Giants and Redskins. 

Really, you could extend this calendar back to 1962 or so, when Jerry West and Elgin Baylor kept running into the Celtics in the Finals. But in 1968, the Lakers also added Wilt Chamberlain, and that Big 3 didn’t disappoint, reaching the Finals together three straight years and five years out of six. 

They only won once, 1971-72, when they had a 33-game winning streak and went 69-13, losing twice to the Celtics and twice to the Knicks, the first time when the Knicks had a diminished Willis Reed for the final 2 ½ games and the second time when the Lakers had home-court advantage. 

The average season for these teams: 11-2-1. And yet year after year they ran into someone — the Packers, the Jets, the Chiefs, the Dolphins, the Steelers — who kept them from fulfilling their destiny until they rolled through the 1976 season 13-1 and took out a decade of frustration on the Vikings in Super Bowl XI. 

Giants went 73-24-4 in those eight years and made it to six NFL Championship games, but only managed to win one title, in 1956, a 47-7 stomping of the Bears. The Giants became one New York’s most beloved teams ever in that stretch and just missed out on building a true dynasty. 

It almost feels unfair to include them because they finished in first place in all 14 of the seasons played to their conclusion in this period (save only for strike-ruined 1994). Still, they have only the 1995 title to show for that run of dominance, along with four World Series losses. 

Average season: 56-26. And starting with a loss to the Blazers in the ’77 Finals — in which Philly was a heavy favorite — they began an annual mantra: “We owe you one.” They finally got that one in 1983 when they added Moses Malone to the mix, but they easily left 3-4 others on the table. 

Both the baseball owners and the players association should save their energy on public posturing and public relations, because here’s the harsh truth: Until they settle this nonsense, the public will despise them both, equally. 

Post Sports+ members, now you can Text Back at Vac. Get texts from Mike Vaccaro to be the first to know what he’s thinking about the ups and downs in New York sports and text back to share your thoughts. Not a Sports+ member yet? Try it now.

Tiki Barber is a pleasure to listen to on the radio every day. 

You know, maybe someone ought to find Urban Meyer, alleged college football genius, and ask if he’d like a do-over on Joe Burrow. 

The Giants are right to interview Wink Martindale for their defensive coordinator slot, and while they’re at it they should place a call to Bob Eubanks and Bob Barker, too.

Tom Tuffey: Maybe the NFL needs to replace Sgt. Shultz in its ethics and compliance department. If a college kid were offered $100 to intentionally miss a foul shot and didn’t report it, his coach, school, the NCAA and maybe even the FBI would be all over it. But when an NFL coach is offered $100,000 per game to intentionally lose multiple games, he feels comfortable sitting on that information for a few years. 

Vac: This will come as zero surprise, but I’ll bet my house the NFL was a lot more worried about those allegations thanks to its cozy relationship with the gambling houses now than they were any misappropriation of the Rooney Rule. 

John Reilly: So the NFL overtime rule … why not two halves of 8 minutes treated like a mini game retains absolute fairness and keeps the most exciting parts. 

Vac: I think we can agree that there are 100 options better than the current one but why not just go with the simplest one: both teams get at least one touch in OT? 

@Jamesbugman: Is Patrick Mahomes going to be the next Aaron Rodgers — only one title? 

@MikeVacc: I think he could still add a few more down the road. But he’ll always regret the one he should’ve had this year. 

Robert Katz: Dr. Rick’s commercials never get old. 

Vac: This is so true. While I believe the entire nation has now officially grown weary of the Jake from State Farm ads, I believe we all keep waiting for a fresh wave of Dr. Rick teaching how not to become your parents spots. Bring ’em on!