[CYO Butch]

BBallCoach proved one thing. There are some coaches out there who sure know how to get on the officials' nerves. His first post wasn't personal in any way, and it wasn't directed at the members of this forum. He didn't even mention whether he shared the alledged lack of respect.

The first reply was already getting a little personal, Rut came in with a thoughtful response, but from then on for most of the rest of the thread, most of the posts got more and more personal and more and more stereotyping from both sides. And it was obvious that he was succeeding in baiting many responders.

My take is that BBallCoach's premise was faulty to begin with, but not entirely without merit. I think most coaches and players do respect the officials. There certainly are exceptions, and the exceptions get more and more common the higher up the basketball chain you go, but exceptions do not prove his premise. He may (from reading his subsequent postings) believe, and even be party to the premise, but that still doesn't make it so.

I do believe, however, that fans of youth games (pre HS) tend to believe anything that doesn't go their team's way is caused by officials who are unfair or incompetent. These are the parents who really don't know anything about the game to begin with, they just want to see their kid do well. In HS and college, the fans change over to being teenagers. How many groups of teenagers can possibly resist the opportunity to yell at authority figures with impunity? To them, it's just part of the event.