Pranksters alter AFC Championship Game page on Wikipedia, salute Patriots

The New England Patriots got some love from a mischievous edit on Wikipedia’s official AFC Championship Game landing page.

For eight years, the New England Patriots have been famous for dominating the American Football Conference in league play. And late Thursday night, they received an additional 15 minutes of fame through the hijinks and humor displayed on an altered Wikipedia page.

The popular online encyclopedia – created and sustained by its users’ contributions – had an interesting edit to the “AFC Championship Game” page entry. It’s supposed to read: “The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference…”

For 15 minutes on Thursday, it instead read: “The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference where one team gets to play the New England Patriots for a chance to play in the Super Bowl.”

For what it’s worth, the official Twitter account of the team denied any wrongdoing on its part.

It’s still unknown who was responsible for the change, or whether or not the culprit is actually a New England Patriots fan (though smart money says he or she most definitely is). The modification didn’t last long before another Wikipedia user reverted the article back to its original wording (probably a Chiefs fan).

The Patriots have notably participated in the conference title game eight years in a row now, winning four of those games en route to the Super Bowl. If they beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, it would represent the team’s fifth win in the past eight years, and its 11th conference championship overall.

The next-closest team to the Patriots’ current record of 10 AFC titles is the Pittsburgh Steelers with eight. The Steelers also hold the record for most overall conference championship game appearances with 16 (the Patriots are second with 15 if you count Sunday).

Though New England is getting its due online through its sustained reign of dominance in a league designed for parity of play, the team certainly has its work cut out for them if they plan on returning to a third consecutive Super Bowl. The Chiefs are installed as 3-point home favorites at Arrowhead Stadium, where the temperatures look to be in the low-to-mid-20s come kickoff time Sunday evening.

Should the Patriots prevail, they would advance to their 11th Super Bowl overall, extending their own record for appearances in the NFL championship game. It would also be quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick’s ninth appearance together, both extensions of records they currently hold. The Patriots are 5-5 in Super Bowls over the history of the franchise; Brady and Belichick are 5-3.