JAG’s Sports Blog

Being such a big sports fan, I can’t help but take notice of things that go on and wonder what are they thinking about when they decide on rules and punishments. The new Connecticut “running it up” rule is one of those things. Beat a team by more than 50 points and your coach gets suspended. I didn’t make this rule, but I will give my opinion on it.

One of the most idiotic decisions I’ve ever heard in sports has recently come to light in Connecticut. Apparently the state is instituting a “running it up” rule that says a coach will be suspended if his football team wins by more than 50 points. Is it me or is this the worst rule I’ve ever heard (I won’t include the “tuck” rule in the NFL) in sports? This rule has more holes in it then a block of Swiss cheese.

There aren’t many people that agree with this rule because it’s such a blanket rule and doesn’t take into account the circumstances of the game. If you win by more than 50 points, your coach gets suspended period. I think it stinks because every player on the team deserves the chance to play his hardest and excel in the game. The 2^nd and 3^rd string players may be forced to ease up and risk injury because their team is winning by too many points. The integrity of the game is at stake because a coach may tell his players to simply not tackle the other team because they have to get under the 50 point mark. I’ve heard the scenario of intentionally getting a safety to keep the score at the limit. As athletes, we’re taught about the integrity of the game, so why would intentionally not trying your best be acceptable just to make the other team feel good about themselves at the expense of your own players.

I believe they should simply have two different leagues for kids to participate in if they have a problem with playing the game to win or suffer the consequences of not being able to compete against a better team. Have your normal leagues and then have a league where you don’t keep score and everything else is normal. Call it a “B” league game and maybe everyone will understand this is for players that may get their feelings hurt and don’t want to participate full out. At worst, I believe Connecticut should institute a “mercy” rule just like in baseball. Baseball has a 10 and 15 run rule that ends a game after 3 or 5 innings in most places at the little league level. It makes no sense to force players that have worked hard to have to figure out how to let someone score against them or how not to score yourself for the sake of keeping your coach eligible for the next game.

I’ve also re-read the article and apparently the coach in question, Jack Cochran, tried to get the scorekeepers to keep a running clock to help the game end sooner and keep the score down. Iowa currently keeps a running clock when a team is up by 35 points in the second half. Connecticut has refused to adopt this policy because it would unfairly cut into the backup’s playing time.

Once again this makes no sense because you don’t want to cut into the backup’s playing time, but are willing to penalize the coach if the same backups score more points when they’re in the game. You can’t have it both ways. You don’t want to penalize the backup’s playing time, but are insinuating that they can’t try and maximize their efforts while in the game.

I hate the rule also because it works under the assumption that you’re owed something whether you’ve earned it or not. How does this help raise kids to be self-sufficient when they grow up if they don’t feel like they have to work their hardest and earn the fruits of their labor. Someone will just give you a prize for participating. Whatever happened to getting a reward because you earned it. Now we grow up with everyone getting a trophy because they participated. Playing sports is like that old saying”If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

What are your thoughts on the “running it up” rule. Should a coach be suspended for running up the score with no exceptions?