This week we had the news that someone, somewhere in the FA is thinking about changing the rules of Football (real football, if you're reading this in the US).
Instead of the traditional 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw which we have at the moment, they want to scrap the draw altogether and have a penalty shoot out if the scores are level after full time. The winner of the penalty shoot out gets 2 points.
Which moron decided that this was a great idea?
I know that rules change over time. In recent years we've had the backpass rule (good), the 3 points instead of 2 for a win rule (even better) and we've also had the ridiculous golden goal rule in extra time. All that managed to do was make extra time a nervy, boring extra half hour with both teams terrified of actually attacking just in case they got caught on the break and the other team scored. Instead of making it more exciting, it killed the game as both teams just spent half an hour waiting for penalties.
Which is exactly what this new rule would do. Lots of teams protecting a draw and just playing the last 20 minutes nervously waiting for penalties.
What a ridiculous idea.
Did I wake up and suddenly I'm in the 51st state? Only in America do you have sporting occasions where it's a case of black and white. Where draws are just seen as horrible, boring things, where the viewing public just can't accept that two teams might actually deserve a draw. It's win, win, win or win over there.
Maybe we should take some other American style ideas and adapt them as well. How about time outs? ad breaks every 5 minutes? a complete offensive and defensive team change after every ad break? Make the goals wider to guarantee more goals?
So far, reassuringly, all the coverage I've seen or heard about this is completely damning with everyone interviewed about it thinking it's exactly the stupid, ridiculous, imbecilic thing I think it is
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