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With all due respect to my US brothers, just because the mechanic is Canadian doesn’t mean its stupid or wrong. In fact, it makes a ton of sense when you think about….if you bother to think about it.
Firstly, the Canadian mechanic dictates that the umpire be lined up just off the end’s butt wide side and make a step to the line as the play begins. The thought is that the majority of plays at that point are going to end up with penetration of the goal line somewhere between the hash marks, so the Umpire is either going to have the “magic moment” happening right in front of him, or he’ll just swivel around if the play if wider to the wide side.
In both cases, the U then has the play bracketed with his wingman for backup so either or both will have an excellent view of the break of the plane if it occurs. In addition, as previously mentioned, a back man slides into the U’s usual spot to cover the line play. If the U’s view is blocked, he doesn’t make the call, it’s that simple. And, in a mélange of bodies on the goal line, a view from someone who can actually move towards the pile for a diagonal look has to be better than a strict lateral view from 20 yards away; as for the “how can you see the knee hit the ground” comment, I would suggest in most cases, the knee NEVER hits the ground in a two tonne pile-up of players!
Finally, with regard to the post about “closer doesn’t mean better”…whaaaa? Isn’t positioning what it’s all about? How many times have you worked the bench side as a coach screams in your ear about a play in the middle of the field and you’ve turned to him and said, “Coach, we’re 30 yards away, the guys in the pit have a much better view of what’s going on!”.
Be open to another way fellas....you just never know.....
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