Wednesday, May 5, 2004

Be kind to the people with the whistles

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Now that I’m back on the sports beat, not only do I get to enjoy viewing local high school athletes play for pride and not cash, but I also get to enjoy listening to fan chatter; most of it positive, but some of it not. Either way, it can be lots of fun and carry one through some of the lulls in the games.

Now, I’ve yet to hear parents slam players, either their own or the opponents, but as most people can tell you, it’s anything goes when it comes to the officials. If you go by the people in the stands, on either side, the referees or umpires rarely get any call right. I swear I’ve seen a kid swing and miss in a baseball game and heard a “Come on, ump, get in the game,” before the fan realized his or her mistake and clammed up. In soccer, one set of fans will find the referee is calling the game too tight, while the other side will feel that he or she is letting the game get too physical and out of hand. You can’t please all of the people all of the time and if you are a referee or an umpire forget about it.

When I first started to play soccer, I never thought about the referee. To me, there was just a disembodied whistle and a voice. As I progressed from rec league to travel teams and the play got more physical, the referee had more of a presence, but the best refs were heard but never seen. I rarely felt that one call would have changed the game dramatically and i know that most of the guys refereeing loved the game and wanted to see the kids have fun.

I only had one major problem with a referee and it was in one of the biggest games I ever played in. I had a breakaway, which was rare for me, and a win would put my team in the state playoffs. I heard the two kids behind me talk about which leg they were taking out and moments later, I fell. I swallowed some dirt, missed my scoring opportunity and my team lost. I freaked out. It was the first time I ever freaked out on a ref and, as a youth referee at the time, I knew this particular official because I had worked as a lineman for him in a number of tournaments before. It was an obvious call. He didn’t make it and I pulled a nutty, getting dragged off the field by my friend and I think I got a yellow card that day, which was also very rare for me. I cooled down and never had a problem with the guy again, but it was one of those instances where I felt right to argue the call.

When I was playing, I rarely heard the people on the sidelines either. All the cheers blended together into one large chant. I could never single anyone out and I never really tried to. When I was on the field and the game was on, that was all that mattered. I would listen for the coach and my teammates and focus on the game. Thinking back, most of the time I could only hear my breath and my pulse.

It was a different story when I was reffing, though. I heard every word every single fan said. Most of the time, I ignored it and laughed it off, but sometimes someone would get to me and they would then feel my wrath. If someone got nasty enough, they watched the remainder of the game from their car. I’ll bet having a 15-year-old send you to your car feels real good.

The thing that would bug me the most though was how many people had the rules all wrong. There were a number of fans who would think that offsides was the same as hockey, so in every game I’d hear, “She crossed the line, ref. She crossed the line! What are you blind?” I wonder how the blind feel about being used in insults to referees and umpires.

As a fan, I’ve definitely shouted my fair share, but not at a high school event since I was in high school. At college football games, I would definitely boo some calls and at professional baseball games I have absolutely argued balls and strikes, but I doubt if the umpire thousands of feet away from me hears it or even cares. They get paid good money and the boos and jeers are just part of the job description. The same goes for the players, maybe even more so.

For the most part, I think high school officials should be left alone and players definitely don’t need to hear any garbage from the fans. A word here or there about elbows may make the referee a little more aware of physical play and mentioning “Looked a little high ump,” may be a polite way of getting an umpire to look more closely at upcoming calls, but, more than likely, it will mean nothing. The call won’t change, the players don’t care that they have your support, nearby fans may find it obnoxious and all it does is raise your blood pressure and make you more angry.

Chill out. Enjoy the game and keep the positive chatter up. It’s something everybody can get behind.