This is just stupid. I first heard it discussed on the radio, then I went to look for something more concrete.
While I’m sympathetic to not blowing teams out for the sake of blowing teams out; I’ll also state that, being a competitor, I’d rather get blown out by an opponent than lose by a small score while they mock me by playing half-assed. If a team doesn’t have 2nd and 3rd stringers to throw in when it becomes obvious there is a mismatch, what else can be done?
Just for giggles, here’s some ways that rule can be gamed:
- If down by 5 goals, the losing team kicks one in on themselves, thus ensuring victory.
- For that matter, if a coach thinks his team is over matched, just have players score goals on their own team. Being undefeated was never so easy.
- Once the 5 goal lead is reached, the better team scores on themselves to maintain the margin so they can continue to score goals.
- Once the 5 goal lead is reached, stand aside and let the other team score. Then go back on the offensive.
If the idea is to have the rule retracted, I’d say the last one has the best chance. Any other ideas?