Football meets Darwin: 7 ways to improve the 'beautiful game'

Perhaps..

Just in case you have been misled by the photograph or the title, this article is not about the long dead gentleman’s cadaver rising out of its grave and taking the EPL by a storm; it’s his theories that have me interested as of now. Most of us have a general idea regarding Charles Darwin’s theories regarding the evolution of species. The game that we all love, too, has undergone many changes, and will continue to change, whether you like it or not. Now, how about a twist in the evolution?

We all know that the world is mixing, and mixed races aren’t the rarest of breeds. What would happen, if we are to mix the best elements of other games, and do a little ‘gene modification’, on our own, to football?

The first question that might come to one’s mind would be – “which game?” Naturally, in our near-Utopian football, we can’t have many modifications. Some of you cricket crazy fans might yell out your ideal sport’s name, but I’m not going to attempt to do what Pepsico did (T20 football). If you were to ask me, there is only one game that rivals football, as far as gameplay is concerned, if not television viewership (look at the username of the author if you are impatient).

There are only two loved ones in my life (this stands till I get my Super model girlfriend) – Football and Basketball. So what if we are to add some of Basketball’s best features to football, and develop a higher breed? The following features and advantages came to my mind:

1. Field and Team Size – Basketball courts and teams are far smaller when compared with their football counterparts. This makes the game far more quick paced and exciting, as opposed to the drab moments in football when the defender goes on a passing spree with his goal-keeper. By vastly reducing the field size and number of players, we can have more versatility among players, who will have to both defend and attack. Also, if a full- court, man-to-man check is implemented, the passing shall be greatly reduced, giving us an opportunity to witness exceptional dribbling with each attack. Due to a lack of space, players shall also resort to free styling, again much to our awe. Plus, due to less space, the costs shall be greatly reduced, and training will be a lot easier.

2. Substitute policy – A football game gradually opens up, with players being overly cautious about their health and stamina, while a basketball game becomes intense from the very beginning (this is in general). What could be the reason? Most basketball teams have a large number of substitution chances, and the freedom to make a player enter the fray once again. If this was to be implemented, it would mean more power packed performances from top players, who shall be ready to blow the fuses right off the bat, rather than waiting and conserving energy.

3. Back Court/ Field Rule – A footballing attack can pass the ball back to the goalkeeper just in case they get the jitters, while a Basketball attack just needs to plow on and on. It very often becomes drab to look at a team slowly waiting for their opportunity to strike. If each attack were to be a ‘do or die’ moment, it would keep us on the edge of our seats throughout the match.

4. Shot Clock Violation - In each attack, a basketball team has only 24 seconds to get a shot at basket, and failing to do so would mean losing possession. If this rule were to be applied, no team would wait and watch outside the penalty area, but dart inside to do the deed. More goals = better game, simple.

5. Points, not goals, based on distance - A player might put up a brilliant dying moment performance and score a beautiful goal for his team. The result? He either ties, or his team was in not-so-bad draw situation. This means that there would be less perfect moments in the game (not withstanding moments where the goals from past matches are in some way accounted for, because Sergio Aguero‘s last goal did win them the league). However, if each goal from inside the box were worth 1 point, and their longer range cousins were worth two, we could have far more potential buzzer beaters.

6. No injury time - Again same reason, more chances for a potential textbook moment. You might say that I’m getting repetitive, but isn’t football all about excitement?

7. Player Roles - Although partly discussed in the first point, I shall elaborate to great lengths here. In current scenario football, the only way we can compare two individuals in the same position is to look at their stats, but truth be told, they do not always reveal the complete picture. In basketball, we can have one-on-ones (not to be confused with the football ones between the striker and the goalkeeper, I’m talking about a REAL one-on-one). So if the players are to continue thriving in this sport, they would have to become more versatile and play at both offense and defense, thus giving us spectacular head-to-head moments. It would also help players develop as complete sportsperson, and each can claim to be a footballer, not a striker who can’t tackle or a defender who can’t shoot.

I would like to end this with a quotation, although, for the life of me, I can’t recollect whom I’m quoting, but it went this way “All that talk that you hear about adapting to survive is not only foolish but dangerous, the only way you can survive change is to become change.” Perhaps we too can become the change, and help this game develop into a more exciting one, cant we?

P. S. - For those of you still stuck up in your ivory towers regarding football, it’s time to change, and it is being tried already, this is just another version.