[theboys]

Well, I'm weighing in a little late on this post, but here's my two cents worth:

I agree with Hawks Coach. As a coach/player/fan, I have complained long and loud about various howler topics, but I have never suspected I was being cheated by a referee. I've always just chalked it up, most of the time erroneously, to a referee doing a "bad job". If a referee asked me if I thought he was cheating, I think I would be taken aback. My complaining is on a, ahem, professional level. Calling someone a cheater is a personal thing. As one of the other posters said, my complaints of a foul discrepancy fit in the same category as "he was fouled!", "he's been carrying the ball all night!", etc. Its probably more of an attempt to try to get the referee to see "my" side, than anything else. Don't take the vast majority of criticisms personally. They're not meant to be.