Fans, coaches and players -- not just officials -- need to step up their games before disaster strikes.
If you follow me on social media (the math involving my modest number of followers says it’s unlikely) you know I’ve been consistent in my bewilderment at the officiating of area high school football games this season.
Officiating has affected, and perhaps determined, the outcome of several games. My beef hasn’t simply been about judgment calls that appeared to be judged incorrectly (those happen), but rather with the mechanics.
Crews have often bumbled yardage mark offs, spots (the ball can’t be exactly on the yard line EVERY time – that’s lazy), downs and rules. The common occurrences expose inexperienced, perhaps undertrained officials.
However, there are reasons for the above. Who in the heck would want to be an official today? One hundred bucks a game isn’t terrible, but do you want to be the subject of nonstop verbal abuse for three hours?
Shreveport football officiating 101: Why take the abuse?
The officiating hasn't been the only embarrassing factor in games I’ve attended, or received reports from. I’m not sure if some coaches spent more time calling plays and schemes or crawling in the ear holes of the folks in stripes.
The actions in the stands isn’t any better. If the right team wins or executes a terrific play, fans are happy. If not, it’s the officials’ fault. The mind-set is completely out of control.
I covered the North Webster-Loyola game last week and witnessed the cops called to the field twice. One instance involved a disruptive member of the chain gang, the second sent a handful of officers to track down an unruly, profanity-loving fan.
Young athletes aren’t winning in life if parents and coaches conjure excuses to blame everyone else for a lack of execution or the fact another team/player is simply better. Winning is terrific; I’m as competitive as they come. However, losing can teach us all just as much, and, in the long run, produce victories.
I’ve never heard of a college coach or NFL scout pass on a kid because the referee made a bad call. If your kid is good enough, he or she will get there. And it’s better off if they’re tough and able to self-evaluate. If they look the other way and point fingers amid adversity, good luck, the road will be much bumpier.
It’s not good for anyone to look into the stands and see parents literally fighting (not at the Week 10 game I attended), or throwing food on the field because of a perceived bad call. It’s also not good to see officials (barely) escape a mob of hysterical fans – despite the help of policemen -- at a local game.
One local coach called the referee at the center of the Loyola-North Webster game “the one guy I’d choose to referee my games.” The point: Officials, like your favorite team, can struggle. They’re human. But they didn’t put your boys in a three-touchdown hole.
Amazingly, fans don’t credit officials after victories. How is that possible?
I'm more incensed by the aftermath of such incidents like the ones I witnessed at Loyola. Adult rarely (at best) take responsibility for their – or fellow fans’ – actions. A bad call doesn’t give the rest of us carte blanche. Imagine if everyone around you lost their marbles and you became a bull's-eye for vitriol after you dub a coach’s decision “idiotic” moments before it works and you’re on your feet cheering.
As Friday’s game developed, some of the Loyola players popped off in frustration, and that’s not to be excused, but they, along with Loyola coaches, were ultimately forced to turn from the field of play and tell their fan base to cool it as things got heated at Messmer Stadium.
The kids had to tell the parents to act like adults.
By no stretch are the officials or fans present at the Loyola game the only problem. I’ve seen it – on and off the field -- all season. However, it was Week 10. We’re now in the postseason. If we don’t compose ourselves, playoff implications could take rage to another level and that’s when national headlines – not good ones -- could be made.
“Johnny” doesn’t want to carry the burden of watching his parents punching (or worse) a fan or official on YouTube for the rest of his life.
Boo the officials or opposing fans all you want, it’s tradition. However, verbal and physical abuse is sometimes illegal and always completely embarrassing. The actions, the threats toward officials are getting worse.
I know social media, and the current climate, has made it OK to call each other names, disrespect one another and demean opinions without merit, but for crying out loud think about your actions when you’re in public. At least spam-like usernames and accounts can help hide your identity on social media.
But Friday nights are real life. With real-life implications. Coach the games, watch the games, officiate the games. Stop deflecting blame and embrace the teachable moments in wins and losses. And more importantly, remember those are fellow human beings who drop passes, miss blocks and butcher pass interference calls.
We can all be better. We must be better.