Winning A Game In Overtime – Victory At Its Sweetest

In soccer, drawn games are fairly common given the fact that it is entirely possible to go all the way through a game without a goal being scored, and the overall number
of goals scored in a game is usually between two and three. In basketball, tied games are less common – but when they do happen, the game will go to overtime and provide the watching fans with one of the most nerve-wracking experiences imaginable. Watching your team play a fifth quarter with the realization that every missed basket could be the one that loses your team the game is something that stretches any fan.

Of course, on the flip side is the fact that with your nerves stretched to breaking point you will enjoy it all the more if your team emerges triumphant. In overtime, every mistake can be a crucial one. Miss a free shot and you could have thrown away the winning point. Try a risky three-pointer and you know it had better come off. This raising of the stakes often brings out the best in the real marquee players. You will often find that the handling and passing in overtime periods is a little more erratic due to adrenaline, but the best players have a way of making time around them slow down.

In the playoffs, overtime takes on an even more sadistic turn – at least in regular season games it is possible to have a game finish on a tie if there is no clear winner after the first overtime period. In postseason, you play on for as many periods as it takes to decide the game. Now that is pressure.