[buckrog64]

I had a 7th or 8th grade girls game, can't recall which...does it matter? Anyway, the coach was riding me some, just a little bit. Then during a dead ball she piped up some more. I said, "Coach, you need to worry more about your team and how they're playing instead of the officiating, trust me." The coached kinda huffed and the crowd snickered a little at my remarks, but I pointed out the fact that we had more fouls called than points scored between the two teams. The second half was a whole different half. They played ball, didn't hammer as much and the scoring picked up.

I know at 7/8 games we don't have as many problem fans as some areas might, the locals know us and know we're going to be fair. Sometimes it takes some convincing of the visitors. One thing I've grown tired of in my time as an official is the fact that a terrible game has 'got to be the fault of the officials' when it's simply being played poorly.