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Ishkur · September 6th, 2005, 04:46 PM

I think some sports, and by sports I mean football, get too worked up over what is the right call, instead of the best one given the circumstances.

No officiating is going to be perfect. No play is going to be cut and dry. But everyone must play with the calls they get. Everything equals out in the long run. For all officials of all sports, there is one cardinal rule: once he makes his decision, that's it. It cannot be questioned or overturned or repealed at all by anyone. It is wrong to make an official second-guess himself, and sets a dangerous precendent by which not just the important call, but all calls can be overturned. Once the referree makes his call, it's final. That's it. No more time for discussion or argument. Let's get back to the game.

Football is the first (and will be the only) sport where the official's power can not only be questioned, but can be overturned. But it is also the only sport where the official is given a unique spotlight to make his calls. Because, truth be known, NO ONE comes to a game to watch the referee do his job. Except football, he is as much a part of the action as he is overseeing it. That is an odd thing to see for referees and umpires of all other sports. As a referee, I want to be the most transparent and anonymous motherfucker in the building. I want to do my game, make my calls, and get out. No fuss, no muss. I want people to forget I was even there afterward. The mark of a great referee is how well you can be forgotten. And when you make your call, it is final and beyond reproach. There's no wallowing about trying to make the perfect call for the perfect play. What you see, you call. That's it. The players, the coaches, the fans and the TV broadcasters privy to seven different camera angles all have to live with that. Football is the only sport that shatters this image. It wants the officials to be tried for the calls they make, and held accountable for the calls they didn't make. And for what? In the name of progress? Of fair-play? Of objectivity? Or mistrust? ...or litigation?

Other sports have had to deal with missed calls and blatant false calls for generations, but somehow the people have managed to say "Shit happens. Sometimes you get good calls, sometimes you get bad calls. Nothing you can do about it. Pick up and move on." Not to say that there shouldn't be some semblance of accountability--especially when it comes to figure skating. But the refs have been trained for decades to make hard decisions at a very high level. Despite what benefits instant replays may have, all they've succeed in doing is making an already otherwise dull and aimless sport mired by too many commercial breaks, timeouts, and stoppages in play, even slower and more stupid for the spectator by adding faux-controversy and five minutes of fame for officials who did not want nor require it.

Sooner or later I hope someone comes to realize that it's just not worth it. Let the referee do his damn job and stop bothering him. If he makes a bad call, so what. Complaining about it is not going to help things. Work with what you're given. Cherish your lucky breaks. Learn to live with the bad ones.

Like how english soccer fans have had to live with the "Hand of God" Maradona goal for the past 20 years.

September 6th, 2005, 04:46 PM	#2
Ishkur Join Date: 12-27-2003 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 438	I think some sports, and by sports I mean football, get too worked up over what is the right call, instead of the best one given the circumstances. No officiating is going to be perfect. No play is going to be cut and dry. But everyone must play with the calls they get. Everything equals out in the long run. For all officials of all sports, there is one cardinal rule: once he makes his decision, that's it. It cannot be questioned or overturned or repealed at all by anyone. It is wrong to make an official second-guess himself, and sets a dangerous precendent by which not just the important call, but all calls can be overturned. Once the referree makes his call, it's final. That's it. No more time for discussion or argument. Let's get back to the game. Football is the first (and will be the only) sport where the official's power can not only be questioned, but can be overturned. But it is also the only sport where the official is given a unique spotlight to make his calls. Because, truth be known, NO ONE comes to a game to watch the referee do his job. Except football, he is as much a part of the action as he is overseeing it. That is an odd thing to see for referees and umpires of all other sports. As a referee, I want to be the most transparent and anonymous motherfucker in the building. I want to do my game, make my calls, and get out. No fuss, no muss. I want people to forget I was even there afterward. The mark of a great referee is how well you can be forgotten. And when you make your call, it is final and beyond reproach. There's no wallowing about trying to make the perfect call for the perfect play. What you see, you call. That's it. The players, the coaches, the fans and the TV broadcasters privy to seven different camera angles all have to live with that. Football is the only sport that shatters this image. It wants the officials to be tried for the calls they make, and held accountable for the calls they didn't make. And for what? In the name of progress? Of fair-play? Of objectivity? Or mistrust? ...or litigation? Other sports have had to deal with missed calls and blatant false calls for generations, but somehow the people have managed to say "Shit happens. Sometimes you get good calls, sometimes you get bad calls. Nothing you can do about it. Pick up and move on." Not to say that there shouldn't be some semblance of accountability--especially when it comes to figure skating. But the refs have been trained for decades to make hard decisions at a very high level. Despite what benefits instant replays may have, all they've succeed in doing is making an already otherwise dull and aimless sport mired by too many commercial breaks, timeouts, and stoppages in play, even slower and more stupid for the spectator by adding faux-controversy and five minutes of fame for officials who did not want nor require it. Sooner or later I hope someone comes to realize that it's just not worth it. Let the referee do his damn job and stop bothering him. If he makes a bad call, so what. Complaining about it is not going to help things. Work with what you're given. Cherish your lucky breaks. Learn to live with the bad ones. Like how english soccer fans have had to live with the "Hand of God" Maradona goal for the past 20 years.