"What if" is always a fascinating topic, no matter the subject. The alternate history genre seems to grow with each passing year -- reminding me to implore you to start watching "The Man in the High Castle" on Amazon if you don't already.
In sports "what ifs," the stakes are obviously a bit lower than something like alt-endings to World War II or other various, time-altering shifts. But because of that, they're also a lot of fun to quickly get lost in. And that's how we end up with a lengthy conversation around the "Airline Conference.