The NFL preseason is in full swing, and all 32 teams have now completed at least one game on their preseason schedule. Sure, you have winners and losers after a contest, but does success in the preseason really matter?

Well, if you ask the Baltimore Ravens it certainly matters. The Ravens, and the entire organization, are clinging to their 24-game preseason win streak as something to be cherished, but does winning a preseason game, or games, even matter?

As it pertains to the outcome of the games, history tells us it doesn’t matter. Teams who have lost all their preseason games have continually made the postseason, and even the age-old statistic of no team who went winless in the preseason has ever won the Super Bowl was debunked by the Los Angeles Rams just a few years ago when they hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.

But this all comes down to how you, the individual, defines success. Does a team winning an exhibition game matter? No, but are the games meaningless? Try telling that to the player who is clinging to what might be his final shot at fulfilling the dream of being a professional football player. Tell that to the organization who has to trim a 90-man offseason roster down to 53 players. Try telling that to the coaches who are hanging their proverbial hat on these players to not just succeed, but keep them employed din the process.

For all of that, and much more, these games absolutely matter.

There is something to be said about a winning culture. A culture of success which is developed early on in the process. Teams who preach this culture and live up to it on a regular basis absolutely have a leg up on those who consistently fail to ever see success in any form.

So, it all comes down to how you view success in the preseason. For the fans, it is rather meaningless. For the players, coaches and organization, success is paramount for the individual and the collective, just not necessarily on the scoreboard.

This is the topic of discussion on the latest “Opinion or Fact” podcast, which can be heard in the player below: