Besides establishing Tom Brady as the greatest of all time and Lady Gaga as the best featured halftime performer since Prince, Super Bowl LI proved one other thing:
The random chance of a coin flip should not be the deciding factor in any game, let alone one for a championship.
While not perfect, college football's way of handling overtime is way, way better than the NFL version. For all the drama of New England's epic 25-point comeback, the game essentially ended when the Patriots correctly called "heads." They took the ball, and an already gassed Atlanta defense had no answer for Brady en route to James White's Lombardi-winning touchdown.
Matt Ryan and Co. never had a chance at a possession to even the score.
Under the NCAA overtime rules _ yes, something the NCAA and high school federations gets right _ each team is guaranteed a possession starting at the 25. Still tied? Repeat. In the third possessions, teams must go for a two-point conversion after a touchdown.
Despite criticism that it is a truncated version of real football that penalizes the defense, the overtime rule provides a sense of fairness and can lead to all sorts of drama. Arkansas has played seven overtimes _ twice. And look no further than Texas high school football where Jacksonville outlasted Nacogdoches 84-81 in _ count 'em _ 12 overtimes in 2010.
For all its air of superiority, the NFL remains stuck in 1958. Back then, the Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants 23-17, christening sudden death overtime and ushering in the modern era of pro football, according to sports historians.
Outside of a few tweaks, like forcing a team to score a touchdown to win on its first overtime possession, the NFL has clung to tradition for too long.
Maybe the Patriots would have won anyway given the second-half change in momentum. At least Atlanta would have had a chance. Maybe Kyle Shanahan might have remembered to run the football.
Sure, the NFL could adjust the rules. Maybe have teams start possessions at the opponents' 35 to account for the accuracy and leg strength of pro kickers. Because the NFL loves its TV windows, limit regular-season overtime to two or three possessions each.
It's time for the sudden death tradition to die after Sunday night.
