I have always been of the position that the NFL OT format is inferior to the CFL format, but that format is not perfect either. Like many, I would prefer to see a 10 or 15 minute OT that is not sudden death in both leagues, at least in the playoffs. But both teams knew the rules and, as has been pointed out, the Bills needed to stop KC in OT, which they failed to do.
I do not agree that it is not sport, however. In the CFL you can win the game by shanking a field goal and scoring a single point. In World Cup soccer you can win the championship if the game remains tied after OT `in a shootout, which relies on pure luck and has no bearing on which team is the better team. I would say that both of these potential situations are less āsportā than the NFL OT rules.
Well at least a missed fg for a point or shootout involves motor or using muscular movement to win, which is a main differentiation from a game like card games or chess or rolling a dice which has absolutely nothing to do with motor aspects, in fact a coin toss is done by the refs not any player actually playing the game. For myself, this is less āsportā than what I would say how most people define what āsportā is.
I disagree. The coin toss appeared to decide the game, and I predicted it would, but that was also tongue in cheek to some extent. The winner of the coin toss still has to score a TD to win on the first possession. They have to make football plays to do so and avoid turning the ball over. If KC had turned the ball over then the coin toss could hardly be said to have decided the game.
Missing a field goal and winning in the CFL and winning a shootout in the World Cup are less sport and more carnival games to me.
I agree, team still has to use āsportā musculature to win the game but part of this is introducing a āgameā ie a coin toss (every time I see a coin toss I think of a casino come to think of it) that has nothing to do with how the āsportā is played. To me sports should get rid of coin tosses completely and even with the start of the game as to who has choice should be based on something happening from a motor aspect, like who won last time the teams played or who scored most points in the regular season, or who won most games in their division etc. whatever. At least there is some aspect or earning or reward involved with an important decision of the actual game played using motor aspects. I mean playoff seedings for home field/arena arenāt done with coin tosses, these are done with a forumula based on points or scores during the regular season or whatever.
Look at the NFL tie-breaking procedures, coin toss is the last method used which makes total sense to me:
Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs).
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
Strength of victory in all games.
Strength of schedule in all games
Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed in all games.
Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed in all games.
Main reason I would support CFL over NFL is simply because I can actually see a game
As a kid it was very doubtful I could bus myself down to Buffalo lol
That also I think is why the world has changed these days as concept of home team has evaporated
Everything is online and you can totally pick any team you want as your home team and follow them
Until/unless someone comes up with an OT plan more fair then the CFL plan Iām very happy with it. Both teams get the ball and one can only win if they play well on BOTH offense and defense.
I would say all three of these proposals, together with what the CFL and NCAA use, are better than what the NFL currently uses.
Iām not big on the coin toss either, but unlike soccer, the coin toss only happens once. Other sports such as curling use skills rather than a coin toss by having a draw to the button. The field goal proposal you included is similar to that.
I twittered the author of that article and told him I thought it was a good read, nice to see writers for mainstream sports do have the balls to speak up to the NFL on issues.