I consider myself a nice guy, easy to get along with and generally not to mouthy. Now I know that some of you, as you read that opening line, are having trouble with laughing and other inconsiderate behavior associated with being rude and such but I consider what I stated to be the truth. And since it is the truth, that allows me to get to the real story here.
I do not like knowing the people officiating ball games that I attend in one manner or another for the simple reason that is makes it just a little bit harder to tell them that they just blew it. In other words, give me strangers that I never have to see again. I do not want a second opportunity to prove my opening statement to be false. I want to be done after one shot.
Now I suppose that you are wondering if I am such a mellow, peaceful guy why it would make a difference. I will tell you why.
When I was just a child they came out with a new, funky invention called the TV. Now I know that I do not look old enough to have actually been there when TV first arrived but you have to remember that I am from Idaho and maybe we did not have things as early as other places. TV is still a miracle. You can do things today that no one, well at least me, would never have even dreamed about all those many years ago.
For example, did you know that you could actually shoot a movie with a camera and then watch it on TV? Did you also know that you could simply push a button or two on a little gadget you hold in your hand, called a remote by the way, and watch a show at your convenience? And finally, did you know that you could slow that stuff that you are watching on that TV down to almost stop? Well you can do it all, I am not kidding you.
And now let’s mix the two thoughts, refereeing and TV. I find that when I review a game in slow motion, that often my initial reaction to a blown call was correct. I maybe have male traits that counteract my opening statement and by knowing the officials it allows me a second opportunity to mouth off and make a fool of myself. Maybe, just maybe, I really do not need that second opportunity.
Officiating is not easy, especially on a cold, rainy night at a football game that is vital to the futures of not one but both teams participating on the field. And, no matter how good an official might be, he is never going to call it all. It is simply a matter of not having enough vision capacity to watch everyone everywhere they go. It cannot be done.
Because of that simple truth and because of what you can now do with TV, I restate my thought: I do not like knowing the officials of games that I attend in one manner or another. It makes it hard for me to be me, to be that guy I described earlier. That is the guy I want to be, that I strive to be and that I should be and it simply would be easier to be if I did not have a second opportunity to express my displeasure with a bad call.
So please give me officials that I have only one opportunity to berate, it would be better for my future.
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