Historically speaking, how do you deal with a forfeit?
Andy Lopusnak
Saturday June 9, 2012
Friday night, the Cleveland Gladiators forfeited to the Pittsburgh Power because the team couldn't field enough players due to the on-going labor issues with the AFL and the Players Union. It marked the first forfeited game in league history - a stretch of more than 24 and a half years and 2,557 games, including the regular season and postseason.
As the self-anointed historian of all things Arena, I don't really care why the game was forfeited. I care how it affects the league statistically in the record books. And it's massive.
The AFL has listed the final score as 2-0 with the Power winning despite the fact that not a single play occurred. The reasoning behind the score is that the lowest scoring play in a game is a safety worth two points.
In the NFL, the only forfeited game was on December 4, 1921. Back then, the NFL was actually called the American Professional Football Association (1922 was the first year the league was known as the NFL). The Rochester Jeffersons refused to play the Washington Senators that day because of snowy weather conditions. After nearly an hour of debate between the officials and the two teams, the refs gave Washington a 1-0 win. Scoring was different nine decades ago.
According to the Senators' Wikipedia page, the game actually isn't "officially" a game, as the NFL's official stats provider, Elias Sports Bureau, doesn't "recognize this game as a forfeit and official NFL standings also say it was not a forfeit." The NFL and Elias consider the game a cancellation.
Fast forward 91 years and the Arena Football League has been put in a similar situation. On Friday, it gave the Power (3-9) a win and the Gladiators (6-6) a loss. However, in the historical context of a high-scoring league, a 2-0 score presents many problems.
Shutouts happen all the time in the NFL and many other football leagues. Prior to the forfeit, the only shutout was in Week Four of 1992 when the home-standing Orlando Predators blanked the San Antonio Force 50-0.
Not only does this abomination count as a shutout, here are the new historical records that the AFL would have to recognize if it keeps the 2-0 final score:
* Lowest point total for a home team (previous was six by Milwaukee in 2001)
* Lowest combined scoring game (previous was 28 set in 1990 when Albany beat Washington 16-12)
* Second lowest point total for a road team (#1 is the zero by San Antonio in 1992 and the previous #2 was the 3 points by the Sacramento Attack also in 1992)
* Second shutout in AFL history
* Lowest attended game (zero in attendance)
* Fewest touchdowns, one team (both PIT & CLE)
* Fewest touchdowns, combined
* Fewest PATs attempted, one team (both PIT & CLE)
* Fewest offensive yards, one team (both PIT & CLE)
* Fewest offensive yards, combined
* Fewest pass attempts, one team (both PIT & CLE)
* Fewest pass attempts, combined
* Fewest pass completions, one team (both PIT & CLE)
* Fewest pass attempts, combined
* Fewest pass yards, one team (both PIT & CLE)
* Fewest pass yards, combined
The list goes on, but I think you get the point.
Additionally, all of the 2012 game average stats will greatly be affected by allowing a 2-0 game to stand in the record books. In points per game, each team drops by at least 4.0 per game; but in the yardage numbers, it gets significant. Both teams were the #1 and #2 in total defense and pass defense. Now no team will be able to catch up in those categories. Prior to the game, Pittsburgh allowed 236.5 total yards per game (236.8 pass yards allowed) and Cleveland was at 263.5 and 243.8 respectively. The Power's pass defense will now average 217.1 per game and both teams will drop their total defensive yards allowed by 22 yards per game. Pittsburgh was the least penalized team in the league being called for just 33.0 yards per game. That total now drops to 30.3. Average attendance of Cleveland home games goes from 5,898 to 4,915 since this game now officially has the lowest attendance in league history (zero) - the Florida Bobcats thank you.
Statistically, allowing this 2-0 final score is, in all reality, as much a disaster as the game not being played. It's going to cause many headaches in the record book. There is one way to handle it and Elias Sports Bureau showed us the way.
Call it a canceled game. At the end of the season, both team will play 17 regular season games not 18. I know what you're thinking and I got that covered. Read on.
At the end of the season, if either team or another team need this game as a tiebreaker for playoff qualifications, then use it as a Power win and a Glads loss in the calculations; but not in the final official standings or record book.
Putting an asterisk next to the game saying it was canceled in the record book is a lot better than changing all the historical stats to reflect a game that wasn't even played.
If calling the only forfeit in NFL history a cancel game is good enough for the NFL, then it's should be good enough for the AFL.
Problem solved.
