Re: It's a choice.

>I often wondered if this could be cured, by changing the mechanic to something
like this:
Blues captain you have won the toss. Do you want to choose now, or do you want
to defer your choice to the second half. [snip]
>

That's certainly ONE way to do it.  Or, you could do like I do:  Ask the COACH
when you talk to him before the game what he wants to do.  Then, at the
sideline BEFORE the toss, remind the captain what he's supposed to say.

THEN, after the toss, tell the winning captain, "You've won the toss and you
want to {insert coach's choice here}, right?"

That gives him absolutely NO chance to screw up.  (If he contradicts you,
pretend not to hear him. [g])

Lest you think this is underhanded, remember that the coaches can choose to
have the coin toss ahead of time with NO captains present.

Jim Rosenfeld

God Bless the 
    U. S. A.