I am a history buff.

Sometimes I am more fascinated with the Louisiana Purchase than the New Orleans Saints.

On occasion the Marshall Plan piques my interest more than the Bears’ plan for Brandon Marshall.

And every now and then I play the “What if?” game.

What if Mary Todd Lincoln hadn’t been so reviled that Ulysses S. Grant, his wife and his security team declined to attend the play with the Lincolns at Ford’s Theatre? What if the Nazis had won World War II? What if the terrorist plot on Sept. 11, 2001 had been foiled?

This can be applied to sports as well. Here are some of the more interesting “What ifs?”

What if ... The Packers hadn’t won Super Bowls I and II?

Maybe future winners would be hoisting the Hank Stram or the Al Davis Trophy.

What if ... Drew Bledsoe didn’t get a chest full of Mo Lewis helmet in 2001?

The course of NFL history may have forever been altered had the New England quarterback never been seriously injured on that hit.

We may have never heard of Tom Brady. The Patriots may have never ascended to the top of the NFL and the Steelers very well may have had two more Super Bowl titles.

What if ... Sid Bream was out at the plate in the 1992 NLCS?

Had Barry Bonds not given Andy Van Slyke the bird and moved in two steps like the Pirates’ centerfielder told him to, perhaps Bream would have been out at the plate and the Buccos would have gone on to the World Series instead of the Atlanta Braves.

Then, maybe, the Pirates’ losing streak since wouldn’t be two decades old.

What if ... the Pirates would have stunk just a little bit more than the Washington Nationals in 2009 and 2010?

Then the Bucs would have been able to draft pitcher Stephen Strasburg and outfielder Bryce Harper instead of Washington.

It could be the Bucs in the playoffs this season.

Nah. Strasburg and Harper would still be in the minors, rolling tires in the outfield and engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

What if ... Pittsburgh had an NBA team?

The franchise’s nickname would be the Yinzers and the uniforms would, of course, be black and gold.

And there would be lots and lots of empty seats at the Consol Energy Center.

What if ... the U.S. hockey team lost to the Soviet Union?

I guess we wouldn’t believe in miracles.

What if ... Joe DiMaggio got a base hit against the Cleveland Indians on July 7, 1941?

DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak was stopped on that day. He went on to hit in 17 straight after that game. Had he just had a base knock in that game, his streak would have been an even more amazing 74.

What if ... the 1994 baseball strike would have been avoided?

Tony Gwynn would have hit .400, Matt Williams would have broken the single-season home run record (sans PEDs) and the Expos may have won a World Series and stayed in Montreal.

Isn’t history fun?

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.