No time for rocket surgery
Brenda O'Reily | May 07, 2008
THE AFL timekeepers have stuffed it up again.
They should have stopped the clock in the Saints-Tigers game, but they didn't and 11 seconds was lost.
Eleven seconds in which the Tigers could have won the game.
The problem is simple. The timekeepers are poorly paid enthusiasts in a professional game. They are expected to watch for the umpire to signal that the clock should be stopped. Mostly they get this right, but they didn't on Saturday night and it was a close game.
The solution is obvious. The timekeepers should be paid and equipped as a professional game demands.
They should be wired directly to the umpire so that if they miss the hand signal they hear, "time on!" loud and clear in their earpiece. As Jack Dyer is surely saying right now, it's not rocket surgery.
Now some are demanding that we have a countdown clock on all television broadcasts and at the grounds.
Not only should the coaches know exactly how long is left in a game but so should everyone else. Surely this is wrong.
The essence of suspense is not knowing. In a close game, deep into time-on, we have no idea if there is time left for our team to win or lose. We just know that it's close and this gives us a heart attack and a nervous breakdown, and it's why we pay $21 for the pleasure of it.
I stood once in the outer at game between the Tigers and the Bombers. It was at least five minutes into time-on, the scores were level and the ball just would not leave the Essendon forward line.
Someone was screaming like a madman, "Oh God, please, please, blow the siren!
"Please God, I'll do anything. Just give us the draw!
"A draw, God, it's all I ask!"
Of course, nobody told me to shut up because they were all just as crazy with suspense. No one knew, but there was time for the Tigers to kick two measley points and nab the win.
Put a countdown clock at the ground and moments like that will be gone forever, as they are already gone for those with a radio broadcast in their ear telling them exactly how long is left.
If freedom of choice should determine things then freedom of choice is what we have now. Those who must know can take steps to be fully informed.
The rest of us do not know because for us the unknown is a part of the thrill.
Many also think we should not have drawn games any more. If the scores are level after 100 minutes, they say, we should have extra time or a golden goal rule or a shootout of some kind. Instead of three possibilities, there should only be two.
While all close games are special, a draw is rare. It is the game in a hundred.
I saw a draw between Richmond and Essendon at the MCG in 1995. It was an epic match and I'll remember the final siren forever. The sound that usually prompts rejoicing and heartache just brought stunned silence.
Perhaps we need a drawn theme song so that everyone could sing the same tune. Although, if we had one it's doubtful the AFL would let
us sing it.
Some have even suggested that it would be gripping to have a shootout to determine the winner of drawn matches. Actually, there is nothing more gripping than watching a drawn match. I've seen lots of close games, but the draw in '95 is the one I'll remember.
Sometimes two teams just can't be separated at the final siren. We can honestly say then that football is the winner.
Brendan O'Reilly is a Melbourne writerhttp://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23657132-5000117,00.html
