As long as MLS is going to let ties stand, should they be allowed to do so after a regulation game, like everywhere else, or should teams be forced to play (and fans be forced to watch) an extra ten scoreless minutes? Some thoughts: 1. For a team in a tie that needs a win, 2nd half stoppage time is irrelevant, since ten more minutes are gonna be added anyway. 2. In other leagues, ties can actually be celebrated, particularly on the road. For a team that is trailing, it should be possible to save the day with a late goal and salvage a point for the team. Tacking on ten more minutes eliminates the glory of a late goal. Hence a tie is never an accomplishment, it is always a failure to win. (Consider Keane's late goal against Germany--did Ireland deserve that draw, or should they have been forced to defend for ten more minutes to get it?) 3. The shootout and the countdown--pathetic attempts to attract non-soccer fans by Americanizing the game--were successfully eliminated by fan pressure. These changes bring our league closer to the international standard. Ollowing regular season OT to continue simply confirms MLS' status as a Mickey Mouse league. 4. Golden goals are nice and all, but doesn't it make them even more special to only have them in the post season?
No-no. A late goal that ties it is even better since you have that much longer to win the game outright. Imagine tieing up the match in the 90th minute and scoring a golden goal 5 minutes into extra time. Or even more gut wrenching, tieing up in the 87th minute only to loose in the 2nd half of OT.
My biggest complaint about OT is that, if you can't watch the game live, and you want to set your PVR or VCR, you have to set it for at LEAST 2 hrs + 10 minutes. I have a PVR, and last night I was watching the Revs' game delayed by an hour or so because I have to deal with my kids' bathtime and bedtimes, etc from 7:30 to 8:30. At around 9:40 - halftime for me - I knew there was a risk, but didn't have a lot of recording time left, so I went to stop the recording, and the telecast was still going on. Therefore, I knew it was a tie. Kind of wrecked it for me. Why not just let it be a perfect two-hour experience?
Re: Re: Should regular season OT be eliminated? It isn't my belief that it is a Mickey Mouse league at all, but it sure seems that a lot of people think so--it's a very common topic on BS. My point was just that bringing MLS more into line with the normal way of doing things makes the league more legitimate. Clearly the NASL's adjustments to the usual rules (like the 35 yard line idea) created a uniquely American soccer league--and the only way that it fit in with world soccer was as a lovely retirement home. Was it just the MM comment that you found "utterly absurd"? You mention that you're against OT. Why?
I think you hit upon it yourself. Americans do not like ties, in fact, they hate them. Consider, all other leagues list in their standings: wins, draws, losses. But every American league (NFL, NHL, MLS, etc.) that has the potential for ties: wins, losses, ties. Americans almost regard a tie as being worse than a loss. It's simply anathema to American sports for there to be no winner, no loser. When you win a good game, your efforts are justified. When you lose a good game, you have the consolation that you play the game well, you simply came up short. Simply, I think most of the world thinks a tie means that everybody wins. Americans think it means everybody loses. MLS is a soccer league, it should follow the rules provided by the sport's governing body. But it is an American league, and should try to accomodate American tastes. Anyway, FIFA dealt precisely with the shoot-out during the NASL days. They told the league it had to drop the 35 yard line, but that the ending of the game was totally under the control of each league. Frankly, when watching European and Latin American soccer, I hate the way teams often seem to settle for a tie toward the end of the match.
No way, OT is great for fans. The best thing is, if you are close enough to tie, you are close enough to win. Even if it's minute 90. Plus it makes stalling for a 0-0 draw harder, which to me is a good thing. A ten minute OT is just about right. If a game is still tied after 10 minutes you get a sense that it ought to be tied. I really don't care what european leagues do, and besides, there are several other leagues that use OT and are not mickey mouse.
Re: Re: Should regular season OT be eliminated? if you hate so much the tie, why supporting it??? when the OT finish, the teams CAN BE TIED, and your so hated OT is there.... don't talk me about possibilities to win... because i hate that stuff, if you don't want the ties don't make the OT, make an ETERNAL GOLDEN GOAL OT, because you will never have ties that way, yeahh like BASEBALL... and when the players are really exausted you can bring the gatorade....
I have no problem with draws. In fact, I think they are pretty cool. However, the notion that MLS needs to do something because that's the way its done in other leagues just doesn't sit well with me. Isn't that the same argument for pro/rel? A single table? I mean, no reasons, except that we should copy everything that other leagues do, no matter what they are? I think that MLS really did something right with ditching the shootout and replacing it with two five minute OT periods. I think it adds a real element of excitment to the game, and I could give a rat's ass about what other leagues think about it. In fact, I think that it is such a good move, that it is something peculiar to MLS that other leagues should consider adopting, rather than something MLS should consider ditiching. I ran a poll along these lines a few eeks ago. I think more than twice as many people supported keeping overtime than those who supported ditching it.
You have some kind of problem with 10 extra minutes of soccer? I know, I know, it's not the way they do it in Europe, but I've seen some pretty exciting games decided in OT. I like it.
Since I don't like games being tied in the end, I have NO problem with the OT. But of course, a tie is better than a loss. P.S. I was a shootout fan ~Bree
Yes. "The game shall consist of two equal halves..." I think OT violates this principle. The only instance in which it should be allowed is when there is a tournament and an outright winner must be determined. In such a case, a tie can not be permitted. Playing ten more minutes before deciding that a tie is acceptable is foolish. If they went on to penalties each time, that would be stupid, too. OT and PKs are fine for the postseason and the US Open Cup, but they should not be part of regular league play. Consider this angle: a team with a one goal lead is just about to earn three points for a victory. Then they concede an injury time goal, and end regulation time with a tie. Does this team now deserve an extra ten minutes in which to earn back the two points they would have lost under usual FIFA circumstances? Without OT, here's how the league stats would look (as of Sept. 2). Team W T L Pts SJ 13 3 9 42 LA 10 9 6 39 Col 11 5 10 38 KC 9 10 7 37 Dal 9 9 7 36 Clb 9 8 8 35 Chi 8 7 10 31 NY 9 3 11 30 NE 9 3 13 30 DC 5 8 11 23 Comparing this with the official stats, Dallas would have been screwed without overtime. That in itself is good enough reason to do away with it. I expected to find that LA would have done worse, too, but only slightly as it turns out.
I'm for dumping the 10-minute OT. Lets end it at 90. I am also a supporter for the old shootout. It just needed the point system changed for it.
NO!!! When they first came up with the 10 minute OT to replace the shootout (which I hated), I was irked. It was like they couldn't really bring themselves to accept ties. But I admit I was wrong. The 10 minute OTs have usually been exciting, but it's short enough that there it's not absurd.
Me too, couldn't agree more. The Mexican lower divisions do it only to award the third point. In the absence of the SO (which isn't coming back), 10 min. of OT is great!
Yes, keep OT! And pump it up to 20 minutes. I enjoy OT. I love ten extra mins. of soccer and I love the Golden Goal. I think OT wins are in the 45% and I never thought it would git that high. Also I have no problems with ties.
You have 90 minutes to decide the winner of a match. 90 minutes to decide which team is better. If you can't decide who is the better team that day, then how is 10 minutes suitable to determine which team is better? I'd prefer no OT, but having it doesn't automatically make your league a joke. OT in MLS is the equivalent to the DH in baseball. It is a valid point to argue over, but its fate really is insignificant compared to other league matters.