The Longest Game in North American Soccer League History
A Moment of Brilliance: A Soccer History Blog, January 31, 2014
I am going with a shorter piece this time. The subject has been covered before, but I felt it needed another look anyway. Enjoy. The NASL instituted several inane rules during its existence. From the infamous penalty shoot-out to its elaborate points system, the NASL inherently tweaked the laws of the beautiful game to make it more appealing to Americans. Of all of the alterations to the traditional rules of the game, the NASL’s institution of the golden-goal sudden-death overtime in the 1971 postseason is perhaps one of the most outrageous modifications. The rule inevitably led to the longest game in NASL history. The 1971 season, the NASL’s fourth, saw the league undergo significant change with the nascent league still experiencing growing pains. The Kansas City Spurs franchise folded after the 1970 campaign while the league expanded into three new cities: Toronto, Montreal, and New York, home of its future flagship franchise the Cosmos. The new clubs brought the league total to eight. With the influx of n
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