Some numbnuts actually thought it was a good idea to play a football game using innings instead of a clock.
The Motor City Soldiers and the Wayne County Bengals, two semi-pro football teams from Metro Detroit, squared off at Royal Oak High School (yeah, that’s right) in the first ever football game played by innings. Each offensive possession was half an “inning”—the inning ended when a team scored, punted, or turned the ball over—and no game clock was used. It was all going swimmingly, until a ninth-inning tackle sent players flying into the Bengals bench and all hell broke loose. Players started throwing punches, fans came out of the crowd to join in the ruckus, and the rest of the game was eventually called off. Did I mention it was supposed to go 12 innings? Seriously, this is what the economy has done to the Great Lakes State.
I’m all for adding new twists to sports games, but you can’t mess with the basics. Baseball has innings, while football, basketball and hockey have clocks. Don’t mess with the formula for success.
However, I don’t think that two teams from Detroit had a bench-clearing brawl because the game was played with innings instead of a clock. I think two teams from Detroit brawled because it was Detroit, and that’s just how Detroit rolls.
