PK's or Play Until it's Over?

[jbduke]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

I'm not sure why you're going way out of your way to miss my point. I'm not saying it would be identical to those ... my analogy is that it is taking only a small part of the game, making a mini-game out of it, and determining a winner from it. I think that's bad in ANY sport. (And to be completely honest ... just like hockey's shootout - the KFTM is even worse in the sense that it takes a huge percentage of the skill required to play the game and removes it. A KFTM is essentially luck of the guess by the goalie, and rarely involves a lack of ability in the shooter. Might as well flip coins.

I disagree with your suggestion that the outcomes are random when decided by kicks, but I appreciate the more expansive argument.

Nothing's perfect, not even continuing to play soccer when things are tied after 120 minutes. Beyond that, it ceases to be so much a soccer contest as a pure endurance match.

What I like the most about deciding by kicks is not the kicks themselves, but the fact that both teams know that kicks are lurking 'round the corner. Teams thus have a decision to make: do we want to press for a goal and avoid kicks, or do we fancy our chances in a more random situation than we do during the normal run of play? When it really gets interesting is when a side (say, oh, I dunno, England?) have an actual history with kicks that plays into the tactical decision-making during the first 90-120 minutes.

One last note: if you had unlimited overtimes such as in hoops or baseball, the play would get increasingly less exciting. Because with additional time not only come more tired legs (remember, only three substitutions are allowed in a FIFA match), but also an increasing aversion to losing. In other words, tired legs will make it more difficult to play attacking soccer, and the possibility of a crushing loss via counter-attack will make it less attractive to even try to play attacking soccer.

Given the reasons behind the wrinkles, I prefer the potential for kicks any day. The prospect of Paraguay and Japan playing for another hour or two to decide that match is far worse to me than any injustice there may be in deciding the game by imperfect means.