Go Marching In

The Saints are going to the Super Bowl. WHO 'DAT?

I've been a Saints fan since as far back as I can remember. We used to be known as the team anybody would want to play, simply because everyone could half ass it and still beat us. Not anymore, this past season The Saints were considered one of the best teams in the NFL. For people like me, we're finally getting what we wanted, a trip to the big one.

However, on this joyous occasion, it brings to mind a few things I don't like about the NFL.

Firstly, here in America people tend to call the winner of the Super Bowl the "World Champion." On what world level did they compete? At least sports like Hockey and Baseball include some teams in Canada, but the most the NFL does in any kind of "worldly" sense is host one game over in London. There are (that I know of) European and Canadian leagues, and though I know they would never stand a chance at beating even the worst of America teams, to be able to call yourself World Champion you would have to at least play these teams. I'm just saying.


On Sunday, I watched the Saints almost lose to the Vikings (which probably would have been the outcome if the game was longer). The Saints held off the Vikings and took the game into overtime. What happened next blew my mind. The referee explained the overtime rules of the NFL to each team captain. The rules were that the first team to score was the winner. In what way does this reflect any of the hard work put into this game (or any other for that matter) by either team? The Saints marched down the field and kicked a 40+ yard (very impressive I might add) field goal to win the game 31-28. Don't get me wrong, I love the outcome, but at the same time, it was all just anti-climatic.

College football rules on overtime are slightly better, but not really. Each team gets the ball to start on the opponents 25 yard line. They then attempt to score. When each team has been given its chance, the team who gained the most points wins. If it is still tied, the game continues with these overtime rules until a winner is reached.

What I don't get is why is it so hard to just play another freakin' two quarters of football, maybe even at a reduced time (say 7:30, half of an original quarter) and declare a winner at the end of that. That way each team has a fair chance to win the game based on the original rules in which the game was written. Simple. Then maybe, MAYBE, at the end of those two quarters if no winner is determined they can move to the shootout style of the college system... maybe.

All in all, GEAUX SAINTS!!!