Time For Sports

This whole overtime question, or lack of overtime in the case of the AFL Grand Final, allowed me to look at a cultural difference between North American sports and sports in the rest of the world.

• North American sports count time down to zero. For sports in the rest of the world time counts up (except apparently in Aussie Rules).
• North American sports are never split in halves.
• North American sports stretch playing time by stopping the clock for penalties, fouls, injuries, booth reviews, commercials etc. Time never stops in sports in the rest of the world.

Counting down to zero is a far more dramatic device than counting up to an arbitrary number, increasing the urgency of the game. When the clock hits zero, it's over, it's done. Bye Bye. It's also clear. No faffing about with extra time, injury time, a referee or an official deciding for the rest of the stadium how long the game is supposed to last. Ideal for Americans who will use any excuse to sue your ass.

Creating more opportunities and artifacts to break the game up in multiple pieces accomplishes several things for Americans. 1) more opportunities to show commercials. 2) short chunks of plays are easier to follow and talk about, rather than long drawn out periods of play. It's better for Americans who have short attention spans to begin with. If it's not good, they switch quickly to something else.

So, the way time is measured in sports is a reflection of the society the games are played in.