“I’m blind. I’m deaf. I want to be a ref.”
“Bullshit!”
“Are we even watching the same game?”
I am sure everyone has at least heard of one of these chants before when you are watching a sports game. It could be a Penn State football game, an NCAA March Madness game, or even the Super Bowl. You can hear it everywhere, anywhere, but why? Why do referees make millions of costly mistakes? Why do referees have full power and control over everything? Why? Before I dive into what is going on and why is it happening, I want to mention some costly mistakes that referees have made in the past that simply completely change the outcome of the game.
On Jan 20, 2019 with only 1:49 left in the NFC Championship, Drew Brees (QB for the New Orleans Saints) threw a pass to Tommylee Lewis (WR for the Saints) on 3rd down, but then Nickell Robey-Coleman (CB for the Los Angeles Rams) sprinted from the other side of the field and flattened Lewis way before the ball had arrived. It should have been a clear pass interference, but it was not even though the referee is only (not more than) 4 feet away from the contact. That not only cost the Saints a first down, but also a touchdown, and an NFC Championship, and a Super Bowl appearance, and a Super Bowl.
If you never seen that picture before, come play a guessing game with me. Do you think they are playing handball or basketball? It is neither because that was soccer. Did you get it right? In the 1986 World Cup, Diego Maradona (Argentina) used his hand to punch the ball into the net discreetly, but the referee never called it as they never saw it. The “Hand of God” from Maradona became a sore point for English football fans. To compound England’s misery, Maradona followed up with the “Goal of the Century” and Argentina brought home the World Cup.
As you can see from our two examples, it is undoubtedly a fact that referees have been making costly mistakes again and again and it could not be an excuse of poor technology because it is still happening now. Is it because the referees placed bets on the game? Is it because they have to follow the script which was handed to them each and every season? Or what is it? There could be millions and millions of answer, but from my perspective and personal experience, I would say referees are human as well. They only have two eyes and they make mistakes too. I have been working as an IM Sports Official for the past 2 months and I cannot even remember how many mistakes I have made through different games. It is easier said than done to be a perfect referee. However, you may argue if a referee is officiating a professional sports game, they should be experienced and (at least) rely on the technology that is given to them, hence there should not be an excuse for them and I cannot agree more on that. Referees should face punishments and consequences when they keep on making bad calls and are lack of consistency as how athletes are punished when they did “wrong” act (e.g. fighting in a basketball game or using a prop to celebrate in a football game). It is simple that the league want to protect their officials, but they have to understand that the distance and relationship between the fans and the referees is increasing and declining. We should start making changes on referees as they have plenty of power to influence the outcome of the game. Similarly, in our political world, we should start making changes on politicians and lawmakers who are basically the one influencing our community, hence we should vote.
Works Cited:
(1) “The NBA’s Ref Problem Is Getting Out of Hand” (Kayla Fonte)
(2) “How the Saints-Rams no-call changed the NFL” (Adam Kilgore)
(3) “Top 10 Controversial Referee Calls in Sports History” (Patrick Welsh)
I have definitely heard the anti-referee chants before, and I have often found myself frustrated with certain calls, especially when I played field hockey in high school, as many refs at that level are inexperienced. A previous blog of yours about technology provides a good insight to this problem though, as I think that technology and video playback could be utilized more in professional sports so that bad calls can increasingly be revoked rather than allowing poor calls to stand, which ultimately frustrate fans and decrease the legitimacy of the games.
I have very conflicting opinions about referees. On one hand, they provide a sense of chaos to the game. Referees are human and with human nature comes the unpredictability of their decision making. In other words, like you said in your blog, they are going to make mistakes. These mistakes however add a sense of passion to sports. As painful as it is to watch a referee make a bad call, your connection to your team is heightened by the strong emotions created by referees.