Should penalty kicks decide the most important soccer game of the last four years? The answer should be an obvious no. Even if the United States Women's team had won earlier today during the shootout - like they did against Brazil - I still think it is an incredibly stupid way to end a game of this magnitude.
The game should not be decided by an aspect that rarely occurs during a soccer game. The goalie is put in a position were he/she must guess were the ball will end up. This basically eliminates the advantage a team would have if one goalie is better than the other, such as in today's game. Instead, soccer should utilize a sudden death overtime period that is found in other similar sports such as hockey. This would not only provide a more memorable moment, it would also provide a winning goal within the natural flow of the game such as a breakaway goal or header off a corner kick.
One reason people are against the sudden death overtime is that the game could last a long time. But who cares? If you don't want to watch the game, then don't. Playoff hockey games will sometimes go into four, five, and even six overtime games and will last six or seven hours long. And every time, the action is always exciting.
I don't expect this rule to change anytime soon; however, I can always hope that in 2015 we will see Alex Morgan score a beautiful breakaway goal in sudden death overtime.
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