If you're going to be a soccer fan, you have to learn to accept the tie.

And that's not always easy to do when you're an American sports fan. Sure, the die-hard futbol fans around the world have accepted draws as part of the game.

But on this side of the pond we want sports to end arguments, not leave them in limbo.

At the start of the 20th century, fans wanted to know if the American League or National League played better baseball, so we invented the World Series to find out.

Ditto for the AFL/NFL debate which led to the Super Bowl.

And of course, in a now-famous episode of "Happy Days," we wanted to see if Fonzie or the California Kid had the guts to ski jump over a Great White Shark. Naturally, it was Fonzie.

So, we like things wrapped up.

The founders of the old North American Soccer League knew this. That's why they invented a kind of shootout for the fans to break ties in regular-season games. But unlike the current penalty kicks -- used by FIFA to break ties in elimination rounds of tournaments -- the NASL shootout had a shot clock and some other rule differences. (As a side note, it's worth mentioning that in the documentary, "Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos," a few foreign-born stars, including Pele, expressed their admiration for this Americanized version of the game.)

Major League Soccer, which played its first season in 1996, also tried to use tiebreakers. But since 2005, league officials have followed the other top leagues in the world and allowed draws in regular-season games. (At the moment, D.C. United has the least amount of ties in the league, with three.)

Which brings us to the high school game. Ties are pretty common at the prep level, too. However, unlike FIFA-sanctioned games, there are two 10-minute overtimes after a draw in regular-season high school games.

This high school season has seen an unusual amount of tie games, particularly among the boys in the Heartland Athletic Conference Division I. After Saturday's contests, there were 16 tie games among nine HAC-I schools. That's more than Divisions II and III combined.

The first-place team, Midd-West, is undefeated. But even the Mustangs have two league ties. In fact, eight of the nine schools have at least one.

Why have there been so many this year? It's a cyclical thing, and obviously this year there are a lot of evenly matched teams. I would argue that Midd-West and Lewisburg are a little above the rest, while Williamsport, Montoursville and Danville are having down years. Shikellamy, Milton, Selinsgrove and Mifflinburg are all somewhere in the middle.

But even that analysis isn't perfect. Mifflinburg beat Lewisburg, and Williamsport owns a win over Shikellamy. So again, it's cyclical. These kids all know each other from playing club soccer; there are no secrets when they take the pitch together.

But why worry about wins, losses and draws? If you're going to appreciate the beautiful game, you have to get past this American need to have the game nicely wrapped up with victors and the vanquished. Think of it as a welcome anachronism in the world of sports, since ties barely exist in any other sport these days. (Soccer was basically the last girl at the ball when the NHL went to shootouts to determine winners a few years back.)

If you're a fan of a team that was supposed to be pounded, take heart in that 1-1 tie (and try to ignore the fact that your team was outshot 39-2).

If you're a fan of the team that was supposed to do the pounding but got stuck in a draw, be encouraged by the fact that your side didn't play well yet still didn't lose. After all, the way District 4 seeds teams, a tie isn't as bad as a loss. As long as you don't lose, you got something out of the effort. Or, as Woody Allen once put it, "90 percent of life is just showing up." Thankfully, there's still one sport left that exemplifies that sentiment.

ONE OF THE BEST: A few readers rightly took me to task last week due to a glaring omission in my column about Middleburg-bred soccer coaches. One of the best Middleburg grads to become a head coach was the late Steve Steffen. Steffen founded the Selinsgrove program in 1985 and led the Seals to 273 wins and seven District 4 titles. Steffen, who died in March 2005, was one of a kind.

RANKINGS: Here is this week's edition of The Daily Item District 4 Super Soccer 7 poll. Rankings and records are based on games played through Sunday. Each school's league affiliation, PIAA classification, and previous ranking are listed in parentheses.

GIRLS

1. Montoursville (HAC-I, AA, 1) 13-0

2. Loyalsock (HAC-II, AA, 3) 12-1

3. Milton (HAC-I, AAA, 4) 10-3-1

4. Selinsgrove (HAC-I, AAA, 2) 10-2-1

5. Midd-West (HAC-I, AAA, 5) 9-3-1

6. Lewisburg (HAC-II, AA, 6) 10-1

7. Southern Columbia (HAC-III, AA, 7) 12-1

BOYS

1. Midd-West (HAC-I, AA, 1) 12-0-2

2. Lewisburg (HAC-I, A, 2) 9-2-2

3. Loyalsock (HAC-II, A, 4) 12-0-1

4. Milton (HAC-I, AA, 3) 7-4-3

5. Bloomsburg (HAC-II, A, 5) 11-1

6. Mifflinburg (HAC-I, AA, NR) 8-5-1

7. Benton (HAC-III, A, 7) 14-0

Dropping out: Former No. 6 Selinsgrove.

n Sports reporter Todd Stanford covers high school soccer for The Daily Item. E-mail comments to tstanford@dailyitem.com.