Author:
An Observer
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Date Posted: 15:12:20 02/20/25 Thu
First of all, I am confident that Nick Wright, the sponsor of this idea, is smiling when he proposes this mechanism to end games.
With that in mind, let's play out his idea.
The point here is not to truncate a game to spare the trailing team the discomfort of playing out the string, or giving both teams the opportunity to start the second game of a doubleheader. (Note that, in softball, the mercy rule applies to the last game of a doubleheader or a series. It's not for mercy per se; it's to end games.)
Ivy League games reach 17-point deficits all the time. If Yale or Princeton are involved, a 19-point deficit is practically de rigeur, the Tigers occasionally being on both sides of that trade.
The 25-point rule, at least applied in the Ivies, is not to show mercy to the loser. It's to add excitement for spectators and, by extension, players and coaches.
Hey, that was the argument for the ILT: Keep more teams engaged when the results on the court might suggest otherwise.
Well, let's take it to its logical extension. The next time an Ivy team builds up a 19-point lead, no fan is getting up to buy popcorn or use the rest room. That's when the excitement BEGINS.
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