This week's bizarre High School Basketball Score

If there is any mercy- rule provision dealing with margin of score, it should be automatic -- once the margin hits 30 or whatever, the clock runs; nobody can decide to accept or decline it. No dick- measuring pride contest (I won't ask for mercy; I wont grant it until you ask, etc etc), simple arithmetic.

Assuming for the sake of the story this is not the case, if you are the Bloomington coach, when it gets to be about 70-1 or so, isn't it time for you to pack up your bags and go home?

If you really think the other team is just engaging in mental masturbatiom at your team's expense, and your team is suffering real damage, why play along? Hop on the bus and leave.

Fact is, the vast vast majority of these nuclear blowout games are almos always due as much to the utter apathy/indifference of the losing team as to the brilliance of the winners.

Most of the teams which lose 163-2 don't give a shit whether it's 33-2, 63-2, 163-2 or 563-2. And if they don't care, why should anyone else?

 

I understand that but to score that many points in a game composed of 8-minute quarters seems overboard. It smacks of running up the score.

 

When the score gets to some ridiculous margin (50, 60, 70 pts) the losing team should just tell his players to start shooting at the wrong basket. The defense will quit trying to stop you and you will be spared the drudgery of running to the other end of the court.

 

At least *I* took my team off the court before Lisa could get her 105.

 

I've never understood that mentality. A 3-pointer is a low-percentage shot, especially with people who shouldn't be taking them. As the winning coach, I'd be more disappointed in my scrubs jacking up ill-advised 3s than patiently working a half-court offense for a better shot they can actually make.
I understand the symbolism of shooting 3s, and maybe the coach should have gotten in their ear after they hit a few, but having bad players throwing up bad shots is generally what you want to see your opponent do when you're getting killed. If they actually go in, that's just unfortunate.

 

Common decency.

 

So the backups of Team A don't get to really play basketball, they have to play a dumbed-down, dialed-back version of it, because Team B sucks?

 

Yes. I know, it's a terrible sacrifice to be a decent person and sportsman.

 

Let's not forget, one of the main reasons teams lose games by huge scores is, they don't give a shit.

I'm not arguing that superior teams should always ruthlessly crush inferior teams into the dust.

But if they decide to show mercy, it should be noted that mercy is made necessary by the incompetence or indifference of the inferior teams.

If that makes the inferior teams ashamed, well guess what: it probably should. Maybe there are other things they should be doing.

If it doesn't make them ashamed, if they refuse to judge their value as human beings on their performance in an athletic contest, good for them. So if they don't attach any profound meaning to losing a game by a big score, what do they care if they lose 163-2 instead of 93-22 or 73-42?

As a final footnote, if the talent mismatch is due to factors truly beyond everybody's control, then somebody is in the wrong league, and the game shouldn't be played at all.

 

I've watched plenty of blowouts where the losing team does indeed give a shit.

 

It's a dilemma. In the league all of our local schools play in, there is one dominant football program, a multi-time section champion, along with five mostly equal teams, all of which usually get blown out in the first round when they make the playoffs.

The team wins most league games in the 58-14 range, often playing the fourth quarter with a running clock.

One of our coaches said their coach tells his opponents he will play his starters three quarters, then bring in subs. It's a lot for conditioning reasons, as he can't expect his kids to play 30 snaps in league then go to 60 in playoff games.

Alpha team doesn't want to change leagues, as the rest of its athletic programs are on par with its opponents.

 

Most of the high schools around here have gone to mega conferences of (ideally) 32 teams, which are divided into divisions in each sport on competitive basis every two or three years, so if a given team starts steamrolling everybody, they jump up to a better division, and if they can't compete, they drop down to the 'basement division .'

Of course some teams in the dungeon divisions STILL get smoked off the field/court every single game. That's the time you have to seriously ask yourself, 'what the hell are we doing here?'