Abolish Ties in the NFL

By Marcus Jensen



Couldn't say it better myself

  Something happened this last week that hadn't happened in four years. I'm not talking about the presidential election. I am talking about a tie game in the NFL. The San Francisco 49ers and the St. Louis Rams ended 75 minutes of play this past Sunday with the score of 24-24. This is the first tie in the NFL since the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals did it on Nov. 16, 2008.

49ers and Rams play to a bizarre, mistake-filled tie

The NFL is America's game. It has taken over that spot from baseball. Yet nothing could seem less American than ending a game in a tie. Sitting there on Sunday, watching this game end, it left a sour taste in my mouth. Ties just don't sit well with me. Something deep within most of us is the desire to have a winner and a loser.

There are no winners in a tie game, pun intended. Both teams leave the field with disappointment, maybe even more so than if they would have lost. The fans leave the game unsatisfied. The division and playoff standings are thrown all out of whack. I can't think of one good thing.

"I sure don't like it," said Rams defensive end Chris Long. "I think everybody on the field would have liked to have gone back out and just settled it. That's the rule right now, so it is what it is."

Rams-49ers tie likely not enough to alter NFL rule

Most professional sports don't allow ties in a game. The NHL just recently changed its rules about ties in the 2005 season. Now games have shootouts to determine the winner. The longest NBA game ever played was on Jan. 6, 1951, where the Indianapolis Olympians won in 6 OT against the Rochester Royals. The longest professional baseball game was played in 1981, with the Minor League Pawtucket Red Sox beating the Rochester Red Wings 3-2 in 33 innings. The game lasted a staggering 8 hours, 25 minutes. Major League Soccer is the only other major sport in the U.S. to allow ties.

So what is the solution? That is the tricky part. You could adapt the college format, but most experts agree that it would not work well in professional football. You could go to a second 15 minute period, keeping sudden death. Or, one that I read a few days ago, a kickout, the equivalent of a shootout with field goals. The truth is, I don't know what would work best. I would assume that going to another overtime and the first to score wins would be the best policy. Do what you do to decide a playoff game.

A legitimate concern is player safety. Football is a very grueling sport, and player safety should be taken into account. But keeping things the way they are is frustrating, both to the fans and the players and coaches. Mind you, it doesn't happen very often, only 5 times in the last 15 years.

Please, NFL, get rid of ties. Oh, I just thought of something good. Although it frustrates us to see a tie, it saves us the frustration of watching yet another quarter after one team couldn't score a single point in 15 minutes of overtime.

                              49ers-Rams highlights, or are they lowlights?