Sunderland-Stoke, 0-0: At least in curling they changed the rules to get some scoring

After waiting all weekend to watch the Sunderland-Stoke football game, I was bored to tears by the lack of scoring. If I had been in the crowd, I might have booed, too. I saw some fine athleticism, as well as some shoddy play, but nil-nil scores are about as boring as pitching duels in baseball or defensive struggles in American football.

When the lack of scoring outraged fans of curling two decades ago, the authorities realized they had to do something to boost the interest in the sport (and the audiences on television), so they implemented the free-guard zone, an innovation of Russ Howard's rink in their practices. Now people rarely, if ever, shout "booorrrr-iiinnngggg" during curling matches. But if soccer/football is going to attract more fans and keep them, it too should do something to increase the scoring in their games.

Comments

[Ironman]

I actually caught a good portion of the second half of that game - Sunderland seemed to have an edge in keeping pressure on Stoke's defense, but never seriously challenged the goal. I think a scoreless draw for Stoke was a much better outcome in the game than they could have expected.