Quote:
Originally Posted by fullor30
I liken it to a corner saloon where you have all types of patrons whose banter is fueled by drink, in our case anonymity, who freely express their views. I appreciate the diversity both in the personalities and the levels of officials here.
I've also noticed more civility towards new officials over the year, where in the past some were intimidating with their responses to the newbies.
I do miss Jurassic, who was always the voice of common sense to me and had alot to offer officials on any level.
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I agree. What makes this place interesting and useful is that it attracts so many different people, from different backgrounds, varying experience levels, with diverse philosophies. It's great to be able to pick so many different people's brains about actual situations or wacky what-ifs. I constantly learn things here, certainly from the veterans, but it's not uncommon to learn things from new officials too.
I like the people here as well. This place is unique, in my experience, as a place for officials to hang out. Officiating is a huge passion for me, but my real world opportunities to hang out with other officials is pretty limited. I know some locales have their local watering hole where officials gather after games. There's nothing like that here.
And yeah, the anonymity is both a blessing and a curse. People say things they wouldn't normally, and probably shouldn't, say. But it also gives me a chance to explore questions, philosophies, points of view, etc. that I wouldn't be able to in the real world without consequences.
And it reinforces my sense of self-importance (Sorry, Smitty, just had to run with that one a bit)
