Penalty Shots Are Stupid

Millions of people glued their faces to the TV screen yesterday as Chelsea took on Manchester United in the Champions League finals. The teams were evenly matched and the outcome was ultimately decided with penalty kicks. Man U are your 2008 Champions League... uh... champions.

It's really unfair for the game to end this way. Here are two of the world's best teams, both utilizing superior passing, conditioning, defence, team chemistry, and other elements to get to the finals. The champion was then decided on ONE single element of the game, penalty kicks, of which majority of the goaltender's chances of defending a shot is guessing where the shooter will place the ball. The team element is gone. The essence of the game is gone.

Hockey has recently (2005-2006 season) adapted to deciding a draw game on penalty shots as well; while understandably it is an easy solution to decide a clear victor, consider what happens if we applied this principle to other competitions:

• Rather then playing extra innings until a winner is decided, baseball will now hold a home run derby after the 10th inning.
• Rather then playing overtime, basketball games will now be determined by foul shots. Better yet, a slam dunk contest.
• If there's a tie in a golf tournament, it will be decided by a long drive competition. The person who hits it the furthest wins, best out of 5.
• Rashad Evans fought Tito Ortiz in UFC 73 and judges ruled a draw between the fighters. This could have been solved if they took turns trading punches in the face to see who loses a tooth first.
• The final contestants in spelling bees will now have a staring contest. Loser laughs first.

Penalty shots. Ridiculous.