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Worst ideas in sports history

johnnysama

By johnnysama
in Sports In General

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johnnysama

johnnysama

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Yes, throughout history, sports has given us some great ideas (the forward pass, better concessions, night games) some polarizing (the DH, for example) and there are those that would rather not be mentioned in the sports history books. Let's share some examples.

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The first generation of artificial turfs. Yes, they were state-of-the-art in the 1960s/70s, but by the 1990s, there were more injuries in sports on artificial turf than on natural surfaces. Happily, the newer style turf has reduced these, but some people give them a bad rap.

The glow-puck. It seemed like a good idea at the time, before the dawn of HDTV, but I guess people don't like to see hockey being turned into a video game, eh?

Excessive ads on jerseys. Yes, I know they are there because of $$, but it looks rather obtrusive!

House carpet being used as a surface for a baseball/football field - Just kidding, but I think it'd be worse than Astroturf.

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OnWis97

OnWis97

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Baseball:

  • The DH...don't want to start a thread on the DH (we have those), but that's how I feel. It was made to create more runs so more people would go to the games; not to improve the integrity of the game. It's as silly as if the NHL had decided to enlarge their goals.
  • Putting a team into a long-term lease at what is now Tropicana Field...maybe it's weird timing, but it's hard to believe they've only been around for like 13 years an they started after the retro ballpark trend started. Just a couple of years later, that would not have been allowed.
  • Expanding the playoffs (starting next year)...MLB was just hanging onto being the one sport in which making the postseason was special. That's going away.

Basketball:

  • The three-point shot. It's exciting and teams can get back into games with it, but it seems to be partly responsible for killing fundamentals and mid-range game. (See also, ESPN highlights).
  • (College) Expanding beyond 64 teams in the tourney. More mediocre big conference teams need in? Really?
  • (College) Conference tourneys; they render the regular season meaningless, particularly in small conferences. (and, if it matters, take students out of class for yet another Wed-Fri)
  • (NBA) That "new ball" they dumped after a few games.
  • (NBA) Dragging the playoffs out so long.
  • (NBA) Giving star players preferential treatment on calls.

Football:

  • (College) Conference title games; similar to hoops tourneys
  • (College) Wide hash marks...NFL's are better and don't punish short field goals.
  • (College) Bowl games not being picked on merit. See today's pick of Va Tech and Michigan over Kansas State and Boise State.
  • (NFL) Knee-jerk reaction rules (e.g., the "lunging at the QB rule after the Carson Palmer injury).
  • (College) Neutral-site rivalry games like the Red River Shootout and the Cocktail Party...On-campus and student sections are part of what makes it great.
  • (College) Every system used to decide national championships, dating back to when it was picked before the bowls, through the "old" system pre-BCS, to now.

I prefer college football, yet I had a hard time coming up with much from the NFL.

Hockey:

  • (College) Conference tourneys (see basketball)
  • (NHL) Some of the expansion...probably could use fewer teams.

Overall:

  • Gambling.
  • Cities/counties/states funding stadium...there's a trend that I wish had never started
  • (for "regular fan" ticket purchases) the internet. Scalping, which is now legal and semi-regulated, is much easier
  • Late night games...a generation of kids not watching the world series etc...it could hurt in the long run.

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TFoA

TFoA

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MLS with the countdown clock & shootout to end ties (it's barely a good idea in the NHL, but it's a terrible idea in soccer). Took em a few years to realize that Americans didn't necessarily want an Americanized version of soccer. They've been successful ever since. ^_^

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CS85

CS85

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The "every scoring play gets reviewed" rule in the NFL this year.

edit: also the Megatron end-zone catch rule where you have to clutch the ball for 15 minutes after scoring to ensure you had possession.

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TFoA

TFoA

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edit: also the Megatron end-zone catch rule where you have to clutch the ball for 15 minutes after scoring to ensure you had possession.

I hate that rule with every fiber of my being as a sports fan.

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dfwabel

dfwabel

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Overall:

  • Gambling.
  • Cities/counties/states funding stadium...there's a trend that I wish had never started
  • (for "regular fan" ticket purchases) the internet. Scalping, which is now legal and semi-regulated, is much easier
  • Late night games...a generation of kids not watching the world series etc...it could hurt in the long run.

People will gamble on anything, so sport had no part in the issue. Areas just make it legal for it to be taxed.

The public financing of sports facilities is THE worst idea.

MLS with the countdown clock & shootout to end ties (it's barely a good idea in the NHL, but it's a terrible idea in soccer). Took em a few years to realize that Americans didn't necessarily want an Americanized version of soccer. They've been successful ever since. ^_^

For soccer, the NASL "35 yard line" for Offside was much worse than the early MLS rules. That totally hindered soccer in the USA in the 1970's since that initial youth soccer generation was not playing under that rule and FIFA did not accept it. They had it in place for more scoring, but it tricked up the sport.

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tBBP

tBBP

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The XFL. Nothing else comes close. Not the countdown clock, not FoxTraxx (the glow puck), not the designated hitter...none of that.

Okay, actually yeah there are some:

- The Tom Brady skirt rule. 'Nuff said.

- Two-ball. Some might remember this (thankfully) short-lived event as the NBA's replacement for the dunk contest during All-Star weekend due to then then-negative stigma attached to it. (And while I'm on that topic, the countdown clock to perform the dunks needs to go, as well.)

- The NHL's full-on implementation of the shootout as a means to settle ties in regular-season games. Part of the allure of the shootout was the relative rarity of seeing it. I think it was six or seven seasons ago they started doing that--and now, its just watered down.

And then there's this, which I'm surprised no one's brought up yet:

- MLB using the All-Star game to determine which league gets home-field advantage in the World Series.

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Burning River

Burning River

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- MLB using the All-Star game to determine which league gets home-field advantage in the World Series.

I used to think the same thing. I quess it's better than when they simply alternated each year between the AL and NL.

I know this isn't a "rule". I hate when umpires are allowed to have "their own" strike zone and the players have to adjust.

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DPV713

DPV713

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Particularly in college football, the BCS in general and bowl selection system. Picking teams based on projected ticket sales (MICHIGAN), rather than teams that are overall better (not trying to start anything, Arkansas) should not be correct. The #7 team in the nation should not be playing a 6-6 team in their bowl game. It's the conference tie-in crap. Let the bowls pick the teams they want.

Also, schools willingly throwing a rivalry out the window to go to a different conference is sickening.

In other sports, the MLB All-Star game rules are idiotic.

The "protecting the quarterback because god forbid they break a nail" rules in the NFL are annoying.

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pmoehrin

pmoehrin

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The WNBA

The lack of a playoff in college football. (I won't blame the BCS becuase the bowl system should have been scrapped 40 years ago. It was never intended to do decide a National Champion.)

The IRL split. Killed open wheel racing in North America.

Don King and the inability of boxing to have true world champions. Only thing I know of to become more corrupt after the mafia became less involved.

Allowing the 1972 Olympics to go on.

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