The joy of any sport is the human factor. All officials are human and their perceptions differ form the fans or the player. It is all a matter of perspective. As a retired official ( soccer ) I often was at odds with a coach or a fan or a player on a “tight” call. What they failed to understand – assuming I was in the proper position – was that my view of the play was far better than the view from the sidelines or the stands.That said, we all are capable of “blowing a call”. A good official, knows how to confer with colleagues, admit his own error and reverse his call, if necessary. My caveat, to all referees that I trained, was : If you didn’t see it, you shouldn’t call it.
I would watch the CRUD out of a Zebra Channel. As a baseball umpire, when I watch any sport, especially live, I tend to be watching the officials, not necessarily the action of the players, I just find it fascinating.
Most officials are hard working decent folks who are seriously trying their best to make the right call. Unfortunately, most is not all. I still remember the HS soccer game where the ref awarded a penalty kick but couldn’t say what the penalty was. I’ve always suspected the player missed deliberately, given that the ball cleared the crossbar by a good three feet or more.
It’s the job of the players to make the game such a blow-out that no bad call can make a difference. If they can’t, they have nobody else to blame if a bad call costs them.
Linguist almost 11 years ago
The joy of any sport is the human factor. All officials are human and their perceptions differ form the fans or the player. It is all a matter of perspective. As a retired official ( soccer ) I often was at odds with a coach or a fan or a player on a “tight” call. What they failed to understand – assuming I was in the proper position – was that my view of the play was far better than the view from the sidelines or the stands.That said, we all are capable of “blowing a call”. A good official, knows how to confer with colleagues, admit his own error and reverse his call, if necessary. My caveat, to all referees that I trained, was : If you didn’t see it, you shouldn’t call it.
Geldhart almost 11 years ago
I would watch the CRUD out of a Zebra Channel. As a baseball umpire, when I watch any sport, especially live, I tend to be watching the officials, not necessarily the action of the players, I just find it fascinating.
leons1701 almost 11 years ago
Most officials are hard working decent folks who are seriously trying their best to make the right call. Unfortunately, most is not all. I still remember the HS soccer game where the ref awarded a penalty kick but couldn’t say what the penalty was. I’ve always suspected the player missed deliberately, given that the ball cleared the crossbar by a good three feet or more.
dutchs almost 11 years ago
It’s the job of the players to make the game such a blow-out that no bad call can make a difference. If they can’t, they have nobody else to blame if a bad call costs them.