The exciting CFL overtime

The Calgary Stampeders tied the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 44 this past Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium. The final result was refreshing. It's not that the game ended in a tie, it was knowing that there was a genuine possibility that the game could end in a tie that generated my excitement. Knowing that both teams had a legitimate chance to win, enhanced my comfort zone and overall approval of the CFL rules.

Ties in the Canadian Football League don't happen often. This was only the sixth in the last decade.

But the overtime format is what makes me love the CFL significantly more than the NFL.

Using a coin toss to determine the outcome of a game (what happens in the NFL) is so outdated and archaic, it is quite ridiculous. The mere fact that whoever scores first wins, makes me shake my head, every single time. 

The CFL uses an overtime similar to the NCAA, where each team has possession of the football. Unlike the NCAA however, each team starts on the opposition's 35 yard line. If the teams are still tied after each having a possession, they have one more possession each at the opposite end of the field. If Team A had the opportunity to have the possession initially in the first mini-game, they would then have possession second in the second mini-game. If the teams are tied at the end of the second mini-game, the game results in a tie.

The reason I dislike the NFL overtime is because the team that wins the coin toss prior to the start of overtime in the NFL wins the majority of the games. Sure there are exceptions to the rule. The most glaring example here I remember is when Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck made his playoff guarantee at midfield at Lambeau in 2004. Hasselbeck guaranteed victory after the Seahawks won the coin toss against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card. He then proceeded to throw a game winning interception to Packers' Cornerback Al Harris for the winning score.

If it wasn't for the NFL overtime format, Detroit Lions head coach Marty Mornhinweg wouldn't have had to make the controversial decision of kicking the ball to the Chicago Bears back in 2002. With the game tied at 17, Mornhinweg decided the Lions should kick the ball to the Bears instead of receiving it, because he thought the wind would favour Detroit. The Bears won, and Mornhinweg has been questioned ever since.  

There is no question that the NFL has the best players, but they should look at the rules "north of the border" to make their game that much better.