[The Ref of OZ!!!]

I can't believe you guys can't take a little ribbing..... Do you take yourself too seriously???

I realize there are lots of whitehats that don't fit my description, though I've worked with a few that do. I should also have added "crippled" to that comment about whitehats...... Honestly though, there are times when guys who have suffered an injury during the game or season, are moved to the Referee possition to protect them. I've seen that happen.

I don't have the confidence in my knowledge of the rules, or the enforcement of penalties, to wear the whitehat. I don't want to screw up a game. I'd prefer to help the whitehat call a good game.

I enjoy the sidelines, although I don't keep up with the 16-year-olds as well as I used to. The best possition, in my opinion, is the Umpire. That's were most of the action happens. As a more experienced official, I find that I work the inside much differently than I did when I first started. Counting players is much easier, and I've finally learned how to keep track of eligible receivers.

[Edited by The Ref of OZ!!! on Dec 22nd, 2002 at 11:10 AM]