Football is arguably one of, if not the, most popular sport in America. The Super Bowl is the biggest annual sporting event in the U.S. and gets the highest television ratings of the year, as well as the most expensive commercial spots. Millions and millions of fans attend football games on the high school, college, and professional level. Football is a cherished American tradition, and has become a culture within many communities. Players are taught from an early age to fight until the bitter end, and this rings true in high school and college football, where games are played with equal possession chances even into overtime, so that the best team wins.
However, the National Football League’s current overtime rules, adopted in 1974, allow the game to often times come down to coin flip. At the end of regulation play, “the Referee will immediately toss coin at center of field... The captain of the visiting team will call the toss prior to the coin being flipped.” (NFL Rule Book) The first team to score wins. Meaning, the team that wins the toss and elects to receive the ball may score on their first drive and therefore win the game without allowing the other team’s offense to ever take the field again.
This is not how high school or college leagues do overtime. In these leagues, both teams are given an opportunity for their offense to score; this creates a situation more like how the rest of the game has been played, and allows each team an equal chance to win.
As an avid sports fan and athlete myself, I believe the current overtime rules for the NFL are bizarre because they do not reflect the true spirit of the game. After nearly an hour of hard-spent playing time, how is it fair to allow the random flip of a coin to often times determine the end result? According to Elias Sports Bureau, in 44% of games since 2006 the winner of the coin toss has won the game without the other team ever getting the ball. Overall, the winner of the coin toss has eventually won 64% of games since the rule was implemented.
I am calling on my change agent, Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the NFL, to seriously pursue a path to modify the overtime rules to make them more fair and representative of the game itself. I call on Mr. Goodell to use his influence to encourage the competition committee to bring a viable alternative before the NFL’s franchise owners for a vote within the next two years. I also call on the franchise owners to open their eyes to the absurdity of the current system and use their power to do something about it--vote for change.
SOURCES:
NFL Rule Book
Time Magazine
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