June 12, 2021
So, I saw a promo for football games from something called The Spring League... being televised on FOX. That’s something new.
Actually, it isn’t. The Spring League has been operating since 2017. Who knew? They still promote the fact that Bills legend Fred Jackson and former Heisman winner Johnny Manziel once played in it. I’m not so football starved that I’ll watch. But there is something worth paying attention to.
The league’s tie-breaking system was originally proposed by the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. It is being tested here. It’s called Spot and Choose. At the end of regulation, the winner of a coin toss gets to pick the line of scrimmage. The other team gets to choose who gets the ball. Consider that. Something that requires real thought. And it’s totally fair. And that’s not all. The game either ends in sudden death. First team to score. Or… the overtime has a fixed clock.
The Ravens proposal gives you seven and a half minutes. Half a quarter to sort this out.
It doesn’t seem like an experiment that’ll make its way to the NFL anytime inside of a decade. But Spot and Choose is the best idea to hit the pike since green M&Ms.
