By Charles Curcio, Sports Editor
Sunday, October 5, 2008 — Of all the jobs in sports that one person can choose to be, the one that I’ll never understand why anyone would want to be is an official.
When officials are doing their jobs, no one notices and they get very little credit for doing their job.
If an official makes a mistake, look out.
Having been around basketball since I was in high school, I have seen my share of good and not so good referees.
I have had refs at Pfeiffer who thanked me for playing some of my more amusing music clips just to give them some time to discuss an interpretation of a rule.
I have even had refs who made requests for songs and I would play what they wanted to hear.
Every now and then, you get a referee who makes you laugh when they did not even try.
I was at a Belmont Abbey - Pfeiffer game some years ago when Elaine Keebe was still the head coach of the Crusaders women’s basketball team.
She was upset about a call and screamed at the ref, “Why did you call that on her?”
The referee turned around with a perfect Jack Benny look and said, “Because she’s the one that did it.”
I couldn’t stop laughing; in fact, I laughed so hard that Coach Keebe looked over at me with a smirk on her face and said, “Makes sense, doesn’t it?”
There are certain refs that will allow a coach to make a point if they are not being too publically disrespectful.
A lot of times in baseball, a batter will ask an ump about a ball and strike call. If they don’t turn around, they might get a polite response.
However, turn around and say something so everyone sees that you are arguing, and you can go catch an early shower.
Some referees even get their own notariaty for the way they do things.
Earl Strom was regarded as one of the great referees of the NBA. He once gave Bill Walton a technical foul for throwing a shoe at the ball trying to block the shot.
NFL referee Ed Hochuli may possibly have the largest arms ever for an official I’ve ever seen. In street clothes, you might mistake this lawyer / referee as a football player. His likeness is in the Madden NFL video games starting with ‘06.
I’ve watched officials berated by coaches, players and fans, even broadcasters (not yours truly, of course).
Bad calls will always be a part of the game because referees are human and bound to make mistakes.
While I may admit to questioning a call now and then, I do respect that officiating is a difficult job and someone has do it.
All we can ask from officials is that they be unbiased and consistent.
But would someone please tell me what offsides is in soccer? I’ll never get that one.
Charles Curcio can be reached at (704) 982-2121, ext. 12, or at charles@stanlynewspress.com.
