Having stood on the sidelines of many different sporting events, a guy gets the chance to see many different officials at work.
In the past, we’ve all taken our fair share of pot shots at officials. Some of those pot shots are deserving, while some may be unprovoked. Let’s face it, officials are east targets for our anger. They don’t respond, and they look so darned silly in those goofy striped uniforms.
But do officials really deserve the treatment they receive on a weekly basis? Probably not. But we all seem to think we have the right to vent our frustrations at officials. Whether it’s from the comfort of our couch with the remote in hand or in the stands at a local game, some of us just can’t help ourselves.
And in the last few years some of us have taken it to the next level.
It used to be that there were just a handful of people who would scream at officials no matter what the sport was. You could count on these guys, usually men trying to relive some glory years, to do everything possible to embarrass officials.
What these guys didn’t seem to realize is that the rest of us were embarassed by them. We were ashamed that these fans were sitting on our side of the field, giving visiting fans and officials the impression that all of the fans from our school were as boorish as these guys.
But officials seemed unfazed by these lobs from the stands. They were not constant, and the officials seemed to understand that every school had a couple of these type fans.
Well, those fans have miltiplied in numbers in the last decade or so. Now it seems there are more than just a handful who enjoy leveling criticism at officials. It’s still embarassing, but what’s worse, the loudmouths never seem to keep the yapper shu t. There is hardly a call that is made today that is not questioned by fans.
All fans seem to think they’re getting “jobbed” by every official who doesn’t make a call that works in favor of their team.
Officials are not paid to see to it that the home team always gets the benefit of the doubt.
Officials are supposed to make calls that are based on the rules that guide play for each individual sport. In other words, if a team is not following the rules, it is penalized. It’s as simple as that.
Without question, officials are going to make some calls that clearly are incorrect, but as one old coach once said, “During the course of a year, those have a tendency to even themselves out.”
Today, too many fans boo and contest calls that are obviously correct. It’s almost as though they carry the burden of the world outside the doos of competition into the stands and expect compensation in the form of calls that work only in favor of the home team. What gives?
Officials do not come into a contest with the intent of hindering any particular team, but when they are pelted with one sarcastic remark after another, it becomes difficult for them to officiate the athletes before them.
Most officials are involved with sport because they enjoy the sport. There is very little that is enjoyable about officiating a game when fans can’t accept the calls that are made and simply appreciate the competition.
There’s nothing wrong with being vocal at a sporting event. In fact, most coaches and athletes prefer a charged atmosphere. But being vocal does not mean officials have to be the target of any frustrations we may feel.
Yelling at officials obviously is not going to help our teams win. It’s not going to improve the play of our athletes. And it’s certainly not going to improve our relationship with officials.
Do us all a favor, give it a rest. Give yourself a rest. Give our ears a rest.
It’s not cute. It’s not positive and it’s obviously a terrible example for the rest of the the people who are in attendance.
Keith Anderson is a staff writer for the Waconia, Minn., Patriot. Reprinted from the Minnesota State High School League Bulletin .