And the lessons learned?
First and foremost, I think I just added something to my pre-game routine. I hope, in the future, to always ask game management if there are any nuances about the clock I should know. (I bet, in this case, the game management knew the clock did this.)
My opinion is that the official time was 0.2 seconds, even though there was some erroneous horn (due to operator slip, bad wiring, questionable design, or whatever). If everyone knew in advance that the display on the wall flashes through odd (but ordinary looking) sequences when stopping, then I bet everyone would have patiently watched to see the final display. The Timer acted in a reasonable fashion to stop the clock, and after its peculiar behavior, it ended up showing the 0.2 seconds.
Ever ref a game where the time is kept by someone with a watch at the table who occassionally yells out the time and provides a countdown for the last 10 seconds? Nothing visible to all about that....
Ever ref a game by yourself? How do you accurately call the far sideline? I tell the coaches I'll do my best but if they agree to facts contrary to my call then we'll change it. We want to get it right! (I work away from the bench, giving me a different view on purpose.)
Would the "get it right" principle apply here?
I don't fault the crew for leaving, nor for returning. I think their return was in an effort to "get it right" and that, IMHO, is putting the players first and making our egos far less important. (The clock-at-zero, substitution horn, 0.9 seconds remaining was a good post. Leaving the floor can be a mistake -- it could happen.) Again I think the best idea is to learn -- lets adjust our pregames!
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