You're down 13 points with 12 seconds to go. Stop fouling! A miracle isn't going to happen! Why prolong the agony?
Excessive fouling at the end of basketball games has always been one of my pet peeves. The seconds are winding down, the outcome no longer in doubt. Yet the losing team continues to foul, foul and foul some more, sending the opposition to the free throw line and needlessly prolonging the game.
I can see committing a foul when you're down eight points or less in the final minute. If the opponent misses a couple free throws and you knock down a couple threes, hey, you're right back in the game.
But when you're down by double figures, just give it up already! A 13-point deficit, that's five possessions. No matter what you do, you are not going to make five baskets in the closing 15 seconds. Just accept defeat. Let the clock run out.
It's funny. Whenever I see a college team continue to foul while woefully behind, some ingenious color commentator always points out that "stranger things have happened."
Really? Like when?
I've been watching basketball for years and I've never seen a team rally from 12-15 points down in the final 20 seconds. No, stranger things have not happened. Don't insult our intelligence by telling us otherwise.
All this excessive fouling stuff has filtered down to lower levels too. Go to your local high school and you might see it happen in the sophomore game. Yes, the sophomore game. Don't they know they're just filling time until the varsity game begins? Finish up already!
When your squad is hopelessly behind in the final minute, you can still play hard. Just play good 'D,' and let the game end.
Stop fouling! PLEASE, stop fouling!
Jason, seriously? I know that being a sports journalist calls for saying things that would raise discussion but this seems cheap. I am sure you will gain the support of numerous amateur sports fans that turn off the game well before this point to watch Cops. While at the same time, your thoughts on the subject will upset sport enthusiasts like myself. When you are rooting for the team that it is leading, fouling at this point can get annoying. If you are rooting for the team that is behind, you do whatever you can to try and win the game or possibly extend your season? If the team does everyting in their power to extend the game including both playing defense and fouling they will most likely lose but there is an extremely, and I emphasis extremely, rare chance that they pull off a tie or win. And not only does it provide you with the possibility of winning the game but you could be remembered forever in sport lore for pulling off a miracle. I understand that a double digit deficit seems to be impossible but I am sure that people thought 8 points in 8.9 seconds WAS impossible. In 1995 Reggie Miller scored 8 points in the final 8.9 seconds of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks and the Pacers pulled off the nearly impossible comeback. I hope some ingenious color commentator pointed out that "stranger things have happened."
When some team comes back from 12-15 points with 20 seconds left, I will think of the time I wasted typing this message.
People still watch Cops?