I just got done watching the Grand Final of Australian Rules Football in which St. Kilda drew Collingswood in regulation, I think the final score was 64-64.
I was in the middle of licking my chops at the prospect of a hard hitting, dramatic overtime finale when the announcer informed the fans . . . . . there would be no overtime, and that the entire game would be replayed next week.
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What that . . . . .? NO OVERTIME??? To make matters worse, the announcers acted like the entire AFL was in a quandary over what to do in the event of a tie, and what a dramatic and controversial set of circumstances this was.
WHAAAAA . . . ? I know Aussie football is high scoring, but higher scoring leagues like the NBA have figured out how to break ties. . . . AND . . . overtime games happen all the time in the NBA. Why would a tie game at the end of regulation be such a shock in the AFL???
Even one of the players said the rules were ridiculous, and that the players and fans deserved a winner.
For American sports fans, lets put this in perspective. Lets say the Indianapolis Colts were winning 20-17 with one second left in the Super Bowl, and the Saints chipped in a 50 yard field goal to tie the game at 20-20 with no time left.
Instead of sudden death overtime, the announcers inform us that the Super Bowl will be replayed, in one week, between both teams.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Australian Rules Football fans, please explain this to
me.
The sneaking suspicion is that, given that the rest of the finals do indeed have extra time, the windfall from staging a 2nd GF is somewhat of a demotivator to apply it uniformly.
Admittedly though, replaying the lead up finals would cause far greater headaches scheduling wise.
The other major football code, rugby league, also had replays up until 2003, albeit with extra time first. All league finals are now decided on the day.
Draws happen so rarely, (about once every hundred games) that they just kind of hoped there wouldn’t be one, so they wouldn’t have to do anything about it. Picture ostrich sticking head in sand.
They used to have them in normal finals too, and then changed that to overtime. Last time it happened in a Grand Final was 1977, well before they had massive money from tv broadcasting and so on.
It’s such a massive inconvenience all around. I’m guessing they’re going to bite the bullet and change it to overtime from next year.
If you look at it, the other major football code (League) has its final next week. Everything has been scheduled so the two codes don’t clash. That is now out the window.
How much would the bookmakers have won today? With neither team winning they would be laughing. A draw is an option you can take- but…
You’ve answered you’re own question right there. “Overtime games happen all the time in the NBA.” That would suggest that draws happen regularly in the NBA so there is a need for a tie-breaking system. Draws don’t happen regularly in AFL so tie-breaks have not, until now, been considered necessary.
Fair enough, but there has never, ever been a tie at the end of regulation in the forty year plus history of Super Bowl. Yet, the rule is in place----if there is , then the teams keep playing until someone scores.
The cynic in me however does agree with one posters point: $$$$$$$$$$
After the 1977 game, which had 20 minutes extra time, the NSWRL decided to drop extra time - again you can’t help think for monetary reasons. It back fired though, Manly drew in the minor semi, and then again in the granny. Both had midweek replays, so five games in 14 days for the Eagles. Extra time was re-instated, probably in 1979 and certainly by 1981