Introduction
Sudden death in football is a scenario whereby there is a tie in the final score at fulltime, the teams then go ahead and plays in the overtime where the first team to score first team to score wins the game. This rule has been applied in football for many years. However, in the recent past, the rule has been a subject of debate in the world. This rule has been disputed by many people who have various arguments about the rule. It has sparked a heated debate with the majority of people arguing that it is unfair. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate these arguments of these people and determine whether the rule should hold or not.
Many people argue that the team that wins the coin toss in extra time has a greater advantage of winning the game because they will get the first possession. This argument is not valid because the team that loses the coin has a chance of stopping the attacking team from scoring. The truth is when the game is tied at the normal time every team has an equal chance of winning the game. Therefore, it is up to every team to make sure they defend perfectly. A good team should balance both the attack an defense. Furthermore, fans enjoy it when a player there is a quick quarterback drive down within the first minute. This makes the game more exiting too watch and hence attracting more fans.
According to, this rule makes football a game of lack and hence not fair. This argument is not valid because the success of any team is determined by their team organization and tactics. Success is purely determined by team discipline, determination and a winning mentality.
Another argument against this rule is the ability of a team to win a coin toss hence drive the field and score without the opposing team getting any possession on the team. This argument is baseless because if the opposing team has a good defense line, they should be in a position to snatch the possession back. In addition, the purpose of overtime is to determine a winner. Therefore, the first team to score should take credit as worth winners and deserve the win due to their urgency of scoring.
Another argument against sudden death in professional football is that it ends the game unexpectedly. This argument is invalid because the wish of every team is to win the game within the stipulated normal time. However, failure of the game to get a winner in the normal time means that the game must go to overtime. The sole purpose of overtime is to get the winner as fast as possible. If people argue that the game finishes unexpectedly, then they do not get the initial purpose of overtime. Overtime is meant to get a winner as fast as possible because by the end of normal time, there was no winner.
Confirmation
In my own opinion, the rule of sudden death is fair to all teams because it gives every team an equal opportunity to win the game. The rule enhances simplicity in the football game. This rule gives straightforward means of winning a game. All players and fans should know that if a game goes into extra time, the whole team should take responsibility of the results. Every player should know that overtime gives every team an even platform to win the game. Therefore, it should be the responsibility of every team to make sure that they win the game in the normal time if they are not ready to take the consequences of overtime.
According to sudden death ensures that quickness in the game. The purpose of overtime is to break the tie as quickly as possible. If the overtime is allowed to end, it means that the game may end up having a tie which would be hard to break. Therefore, sudden death ensures that the game gets a winner. All players and fans should understand that with the current rule ties are broken quicker. Furthermore, in many recent games ties have been rare hence making professional football more interesting to watch.
Under the current rules, there is integrity in professional football. The team with the best qualities wins. Therefore, for any team to win they must ensure that they have a balanced team which ensures that they step up their on the line. This rule ensures that the strongest and most competent team wins the game. In my opinion, sudden death ensures that all teams are prepared to battle up to the last minute which makes football games more interesting. Every minute is critical, and every minute can determine the fate of a team.
Conclusion
The current sudden death in football is very simple. Its simplicity makes it become the best in the current football environment. Amending the rule would increase more ties which would become difficult to break. It would also diminish the value of forth quarter which makes the game more interesting. In my opinion, the rule fair to every team and that every team has an equal chance of winning the game.
Bibliography
Martens, Ric. "Should the NFL change the overtime rule?" 02 March 2010. Helium Website. Document. 12 December 2012.
Stapleton, Arnie. "NFL Overtime Changes:'Modified Sudden Death Rule' Adopted." 12 December 2012. Huffington Post. Document. 12 December 2012.
Williams, Lena. "PRO FOOTBALL; Benefits Elude Some Coaches." 30 December 1999. The New York Times. Document. 12 December 2012.
