Quote:
Originally posted by Sleeper
Being new to this, I wanted to ask a question. Isn't comparing officials from different sports kind of like comparing apples to oranges to pears to grapefruit, etc? While they are all "officials," there are different rules, crew structures, professional responsiblilites, game speeds and other nuances within each sport that make comparisons difficult. Can this comparison be legitimately made, or is this a sports writer with too much time on his hands?
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Yes!!!
I do Football, Basketball, and Baseball.
Football I have help all the time. There are not many calls that I am not looking at a similar play with a partner of mine. And most of all, before a penalty is announced we discuss it amongs each other to make sure we get it right. So you are never alone out there. And unless you are the man with the White Hat, no one really knows who you are. At least publicly.
Basketball is the sport where judgement is the most important as an individual. You do have help with partners but I think there are many plays that you are all alone. Or plays that you and only you can make accurately.
Baseball is not as easy as most people think. You have a baseball flying around the diamond and getting out of the way and knowing when you stay in a certain place is key. You cannot call balls and strikes if you are afraid of getting hit. And there are many times you will anyway. Most officials think they could call balls and strikes, but most could not. It is not as easy as many think. Just like basketball there is a reason for everything and you need to have great knowledge of what to do and when.
As an officials that just does these sports, the things you cannot measure are things that most cannot see. And unless you have knowledge of those sports inside and out, you will hardly fully understand the things that make a good official. Just like I am not qualified to judge NHL officials. I do not understand there mechanics and rules to where I could even rank them accurately. I just cannot do that.
Peace