I appreciate the honesty. I guess some of us simply come from two different schools of umpiring. I'm not bigger than the game and I work to go unnoticed by the players and coaches. I bite when necessary but treat the 'rats' as well as those who heap praise my way. Coaches around here tend to stay in that role for a long time. I've been gone from the States for the past six years and see that many are still calling the shots for their squads. All things being equal, I would rather have a coach respect me for having a short memory and I'll do the same. It's a long season and I don't care to hold grudges. Umpires have no need for more enemies.
I've got a couple more weeks before the season starts around here. Maybe I'll change my mind about those 'rats' yet.
To those of you working games right now, I'm pretty envious. Enjoy and be safe.