Quote:
Originally posted by SavaahnTy
LOL.. you know what is interesting?
My female roommate, who I am trying to get to start officiating, made this comment as we were sitting here looking over this and many other posts.
" Why does it seem like some of those guys are just looking for ways to screw the players and show how smart they are for knowing the exact rule? "
I attempted to explain the " spirit of the rule " theory....
" So is it by the book... or " spirit "? How the **** am I supposed to know? "
ahhhh, the joys of officiating! 
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The Swiss have a saying: When the map and the terrain disagree, trust the terrain. When a very literal interpretation of the rules is at odds with the game, do what's right for the game. That is not to say that we can go out and do whatever we like, but when your head tells you one thing, and your gut tells you another, trust your gut.
Now I know I'm gonna get flamed to bits over this because the rules are the rules. I agree. However, in this case you have a fairly specific exception to the foul rule and we're debating how/if it applies to the oob rule. There's no case on it (as far as I know), no official interpretation (again, as far as I know) and the result of the literal application pits head against gut. And you'll notice that folks have been very careful to distinguish between the debate about the proper rule (the head part) and what they would normally do (the gut part).
I think your roommate is right. When the literal application of the rule only serves to screw the players and display the official's knowledge of the rules, something is wrong. We need officials who understand that. Git 'er signed up!