That’s what Sarah Said
“It’s not whether you win or lose. It’s how you play the game” is how the old saying goes.
But for some reason, I just can’t jump on that bandwagon and be okay with that.
Maybe it’s my innate desire for everything in my life to have a winner or a loser, but what really is the point if there’s no winner or loser in a situation?
On Sunday night into early morning, I was reminded of how much I do not like ties, especially ties in football.
Heading into overtime, the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks were tied at 6 on Sunday Night Football.
After driving down the field in overtime, Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro lined up for a 24-yard field goal.
A sure guarantee in professional football — one may think.
Yet, when the ball left his foot, it hit the left upright, resulting in a missed field goal.
The Seahawks then had a chance to break the 6-6 tie with a drive of their own.
At the 10-yard line, Seattle kicker Steven Hauschka lined up for a field goal to seal the victory.
What seemed like a win in the bag for the Seahawks, considering the recent unfolding of plays, was too good to be true.
Hauschka’s kick was pulled wide left.
With seven seconds left on the clock in overtime, the score was still knotted at 6-6.
A hail mary by Cardinals’ quarterback Carson Palmer was unsuccessful, leaving the game stuck in a tie.
Because of NFL rules, the 75 minutes of professional football would end in a tie.
Something should be done so fans who watch their team for more than three hours do not have to be disappointed with a mediocre result in which there was no winner or loser.
Maybe there should be two overtimes or some type of penalty shot scenario like soccer, but NFL contests
can’t end in a tie.
As much as I can’t stand watching my favorite team lose, watching them end in a tie would be almost more frustrating, knowing that for some reason one team on the field could not be deemed any better than the other.
My inner competitiveness cringes at the thought of being content with a tie, but for the time being, the NFL is content to let games which may have audiences on the edge of their seats finish with identical scores for both teams.
Maybe what I really want is the NFL to adopt the saying, “Winning isn’t everything.
It’s the only thing,” just so I don’t have to witness another tie game.
Rodriguez is the editor-in-chief.