One thing that seems to improve later in the season in Japan is the quality of the games. The schedules seem to be seeded with top of the division teams playing at the end of the season, so the games are matched a little more evenly.
As usual, the early season this year has featured quite a few blowouts-one by a 105-0 score. (And remember, regulation games in Japan are only 48 minutes). But honestly, these sort of one-sided games do little good for the game of football in Japan. Soundly defeating an opponent is one thing; humiliating the opponent is quite another. They are not very exciting to watch, and they discourage the losers from going on. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Ultimately, football for everyone suffers.
Of course, mismatches in talent and squad size are largely to blame; but so are the league rules, which use point differentials as a tie-breaker in division standings and determining playoff positions. This sometimes results in strange situations where a team way ahead near the end of a game will be going into hurry-up mode and calling timeouts trying to score again, at a point when their opponent has been thoroughly exhausted and demoralized. This is bad sport, and bad sportsmanship. In Western countries, those who do so are seen as poor sportsmen, but somehow this concept has not yet made its way to Japan.
[In fact the Swedish coach mentioned this after his team's World Cup loss, when late in the game and with a huge lead, Japan faked the extra point kick and ran in a two point conversion].
I believe a Mercy Rule of some sort should be imposed- stopping a game when the differential reached, say, 40 or 50 points.
There are slightly more radical measures that could be tried- I recall the Hula Bowl All-Star game used to allow the team that is trailing by more than (10?) points the option to receive or kick-off after any score. But as this is not in line with current NCAA rules, I have little hope to see such a rule adopted.
Eliminating the point differential factor from standings and tie-breakers would certainly help. What is needed to accomplish that is some way of rating the quality of the opponent one has lost to and defeated, by won/lost records; records against common opponents; and if necessary, perhaps considering defeated opponent's total points scored or allowed.
For my part, I will focus on drawing attention to close games, and not glorifying blowouts.
Of course the best way is to raise the level of talent and numbers for the have-nots in football in Japan to help make them more competitive. Hopefully the X-League, the KCFA and the other organizations and teams involved with american football in Japan will see the light sooner, rather than later.
