# Fix your favorite sport

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-your-favorite-sport/680970>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [February 10, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-your-favorite-sport/680970 "2014-02-10T14:11:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 7

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**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-your-favorite-sport/680970/121 "2014-02-25T21:32:54Z")

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> [@Quimby](#):
>
> I don’t remember the numbers but statistical analysis of OT games showed that the team that won the toss won the game overwhelmingly. It’s unfair that the game should be decided on a coin flip.

If teams lose the coin toss, PLAY DEFENSE!

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**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-your-favorite-sport/680970/122 "2014-02-25T21:41:38Z")

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> [@etv78](#):
>
> If teams lose the coin toss, PLAY DEFENSE!

What you don’t want is for the coin flip to decide who wins. You also don’t want the coin flip to give one team a significant advantage. If the game play is such that it skews towards the offense, and the offense statistically has a significantly higher than 50% chance to score on the initial possession, then sudden death OTs are affected too much by the coin flip.

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**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-your-favorite-sport/680970/123 "2014-02-25T21:51:26Z")

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Here’s my solution then: losers don’t get paid!

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**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-your-favorite-sport/680970/124 "2014-02-26T15:03:48Z")

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> [@Quimby](#):
>
> I don’t remember the numbers but statistical analysis of OT games showed that the team that won the toss won the game overwhelmingly. It’s unfair that the game should be decided on a coin flip.

It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was disproportionate: [about 61% of the time, the team that won the coin flip won the game.](http://www.advancednflstats.com/2010/02/why-nfl-overtime-needs-to-change.html)

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