President should veto ties

As long as he's fixing the economy, the war and college football, Barack Obama should abolish ties in the NFL.

By MARK CRAIG, Star Tribune

Last update: November 20, 2008 - 11:41 PM

Dear President-elect Barack Obama:

I know your plate is full with trying to bring a playoff to college football. But those of us who follow the NFL want some relief, too.

Some of us want you to bring college football's overtime rules to the NFL.

You see, we've had 17 ties in the NFL since 1974. And that's too many, sir.

One of them was witnessed in person by yours truly on Nov. 19, 1989 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. And believe me, a 10-10 tie with the Kansas City Chiefs and former Browns coach Marty Schottenheimer was not good for America.

We win or lose in America. Just ask Donovan McNabb. The Eagles quarterback was buckling up for a sixth quarter last Sunday when someone told him there wouldn't be a sixth quarter in which to wiggle out of an embarrassing 13-13 deadlock with the Cincinnati Bengals.

"I never even knew that was in the rule book," McNabb said Sunday.

"Are you kidding me?" every fan in the country said Monday.

"You'd be surprised," Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte would say on Wednesday. "I'm sure if you did a survey of the NFL and asked guys -- before this week -- who knew the game could end in a tie, I bet it would have been pretty surprising what you would have come up with."

You see, President-elect Obama, the young men playing the game are so pro-America, they can't even fathom not identifying a winner and a loser. In their minds, you win, you lose ... or you keep counting until Franken wins.

"I'd hate to see what would happen in the Super Bowl and in the playoffs," McNabb said Sunday.

"My gosh, is he really that clueless," responded the millions who know the NFL keeps right on playing in the postseason.

This is a national crisis, President-elect Obama. In fact, the issue might have started on the East Coast but it is threatening to spread to middle America.

Embattled Vikings coach Brad Childress was McNabb's position coach, coordinator and all-around guru from 1999 to 2005. It is quite possible that Eagles coach Andy Reid will launch an ugly smear campaign at any moment.

"Andy and I had a good laugh about that this week," Childress said. "He wanted to know who the dumb ... " apple was who taught McNabb the game as a rookie.

"I didn't see myself get blamed -- yet," Childress said. "But it's early."

Before last Sunday, it had been six years since the NFL had experienced a tie. That one also happened under George W. Bush, by the way.

To avoid this happening on your watch, we implore you, President-elect Obama, to huddle with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ASAP. Convince him to adopt the NCAA's overtime system.

Under NCAA overtime rules, the clock is turned off and teams play until there's a winner. Each team also gets at least one offensive opportunity starting at the 25-yard line. Heck, the excitement even builds when teams are forced to go for two points starting with the third overtime period.

It makes a lot more sense than playing an extra 15 minutes and doing nothing more than make a Pro Bowl QB look foolish in front of the entire country.

Please take care of this, President-elect Obama. Then we'll talk more about how the Giants stole the Vikings' signals in 2001 and how Drew Pearson pushed off back in 1975.

Yours truly,

Concerned follower of the NFL.