Super Bowl 51 would’ve been improved by college football’s overtime rule

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Super Bowl 51 was a good entertainment product and competitive event. The outcome has crippled society and rent garments from coast to coast, but the first-ever overtime Super Bowl produced more than enough drama and memories to qualify as one of our best title games in any sport ever.

But it could've been even better if the NFL had college football's overtime rule.

First: No, I'm not complaining about this because I'm a Falcons fan. I said the same thing about last year's Packers-Cardinals playoff game. Even while watching, I didn't think, "This is unfair." As soon as Atlanta failed to square up for a field goal in the fourth quarter, I knew deep down that we deserved to eventually lose.

But! Even the uninvested viewer would've had something to gain from seeing not just Tom Brady plowing through an exhausted defense, but also Matt Ryan having a chance to equalize.

In case you're unfamiliar: CFB OT means both teams trade possessions until one of them can't keep up with the other on the scoreboard, starting at the 25. Starting in the third overtime, two-point conversions are mandatory. That's pretty much it.

The Falcons still would've faced longer odds, considering the condition of their defense at that point and the condition of Brady’s Brady-ness, but the ending would've felt like less of a foregone conclusion than was allowed by Hey, The Greatest QB Ever Won The Coin Toss.

I don't know how to convince you I'm saying this out of general goodwill and not because of pouting, but that's fine.

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