Quote:
Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee
T'aint really nuthin' to brag about iow. You can't replace proper field coverage with fitness if it doesn't matter how fit the official is if it's impossible for that official to get into position to see certain things anyway. It's analogous to trying to officiate all NBA basketball games with one official.
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I hear HS basketball officials all the time say things like "those old NCAA officials, they should pack it in -- they couldn't even work 2-man if they wanted to" -- well, who cares? Someone very smart decided that it's more important to have 3 officials with experienced eyes on the court than it is to have three gazelles running up and down. And the handful of times each season someone gets injured and they *do* work two shows that those guys can get by that way, in a pinch.
I've had this conversation with British friends who don't understand why I'm not willing to criticize the center referees in soccer and my response is always "if they think one guy on a field that big can be expected to have distance and angle on every crucial call, they're nuts -- soccer teams and fans get what they deserve."