Is the BIG Game worth it

[TussAgee11]

T:

What I was referring to was a common problem that I have heard about in both the association I belong to at home and games I umpire while in college.

There are some varsity officials that have lost that game management touch and will hook anybody and everybody, or take alot of crap and do nothing about it. Out of position or refusal of new mechanics is also a problem.

I ask others who have been members for some time and they reply, "He used to be very good." But these people still get the Varsity games alot of the time.

When they got to varsity, maybe they got complacent and didn't keep striving (this part is speculation).

What I said in that first post was not from my mouth, but from others, who are most certainly not children.

Seeya,

Tuss

[D-Man]

Goals. I work toward goals. I focus on short term, attainable and measureable milestones that hopefully will lead to an eventual working vacation in Omaha. Bigger and bigger games are key components toward that end. I need to f-up, get my *** chewed and react in a way that does not retard this process. Once (if) I achieve this goal, if I'm young enough, I will try to retain that level. Otherwise, I'll just try and teach others and supplement my retirement.

D

[dash_riprock]

I just did a junior high girls basketball game for $125.10

It was the biggest game I could get today.

[DG]

[QUOTE=PeteBooth]

You have done the BIG game made the BIG call etc. Also, it depends upon one's area, but are simply tired of dealing with High intense coaches.

In other words most every game has that high intense pressure.

It's not that an umpire is strictly out there for the money etc. but to coin a term "has done their time" and are simply tired of it.

This type of umpire still likes to umpire but simply does not want the aggravation anymore.

I believe this was a topic in one of the referee articles years back when the article was about a decline in Officiating. The article talked about many aspects of officiating and gave I believe the top 5 / 10 reasons for the decline.

When I get tired of high intense I will stop doing it, I will not step down to less high, less intense games.

Each to his own though. The world needs some low achievers to balance the scales.

[dash_riprock]

Basic fee $69.50 + 20% for 5 periods x 1.5 for working alone = $125.10

30 miles round trip, no tolls.

And it should be + 25% for the 5th period. I'm getting gypped out of $10.21!

[gordon30307]

There's no better feeling in the world making the "big call in the big game" half the players think you're wrong but you know you're right. You'll never know the feeling until you get the chance. Or should I say take the chance.

[Steven Tyler]

[QUOTE=DG]

Originally Posted by PeteBooth

When I get tired of high intense I will stop doing it, I will not step down to less high, less intense games.

Each to his own though. The world needs some low achievers to balance the scales.

I don't know why an umpire would feel the intensity of a big game. If one is uptight, it can lead to a bad call. Pressure is what comes in a tire.

Even a game between two lesser opponents can be tight and be as an exciting game. A big game can become a clunker and boring as hell.

[HokieUmp]

Originally Posted by DG

When I get tired of high intense I will stop doing it, I will not step down to less high, less intense games.

Each to his own though. The world needs some low achievers to balance the scales.

Okay, let me make sure I'm following this....

When I take HS games from my assignor, and they're between good teams, then that's okay - I'm a high achiever and moving up in the world.

When I take the Pony games my assignor gives me, or LL or rec ball, then suddenly I've become a low achiever that helps make it possible for DG (and whoever else) to be King Of The World, or at least part of the upper half?

What the h---?

I'm new to my association, so I'm still moving on the scale. Although I've worked HS age games overseas, I wasn't a full blown HS guy here, and still am not, according to our level system. I believe that I _will_ move up to that point, and will get promoted to the level that does college, and maybe the Coastal Plains games played here. So, yes, I am looking to move up the scale to better ball, as the gist of many people on here.

But at the same time, I also consider myself to be a "loyal soldier" for my association. I got 65 games last year; only 3 or 4 varisty, something like 16 JV, and 4-5 middle school (middle school? Who knew? That didn't happen when I was a kid). The rest were a combo of LL senior/Pony (various ages), AAU, Showcase, whatever. I did what I was given, again largley thanks to my "newbie" status with my association.

At the same time, when I become as cool as everyone else, and get the HS varsity stuff more often - and the other stuff to which I've alluded - I'd like to think I won't be too good to work other games that my association has contracted for. Sure, those games might be more for the newer guys, and the ones not promoted as high yet, but if my assignor needs someone, and I'm available, I'd like to think he'd give me a call.

Maybe it's just the ball here, and I certainly haven't seen many teams in the area, but the HS games I got last year weren't Yankees/Red Sox. There are good teams here, but I didn't get evenly matched teams for the games I had, I guess. And I've had travel AAU U12 games that were well played and went to the wire, so good ball can be seen many places.

Besides, for the participants in that game, that may be the biggest thing in the world to them - not just at that time, but what they've been living for for the last XX days. Why do people want to look down so much at that?

But as to the OP, sort of: seems to me that the bigger games, and the more important ones, are better behaved. Yeah, there'll be griping and moaning, but the people involved want to STAY involved, and not get turfed out by the umpire. It's the younger games, with less at stake, that seem to get the more bent-out-of-shape guys. That's just my observation.

[Publius]

A few years ago, I had a choice between a 2-man, U18 district semi-final for $50 and a 3-man, U12 "World Series" (with the proliferation of sanctioning bodies, that term is practically meaningless now) game on a 60' diamond for $30. They were both played at the same complex at the same time. I chose the U18.

Did I turn down the BIG game? The assignor acted like I did. I thought the other game was a bigger challenge and more money--easy choice. I also thought it would be nice to let someone who was excited to have it work the U12 game.

Is a game between a bunch of kids just out of elementary school a BIG game just because they slap the misnomer "World Series" on it?

[lawump]

There is nothing more satisfying (and I mean nothing) than having your "A" game with you when you are working a BIG game. Nothing. It is addictive. It is like a drug I crave. After working such a game ...I swear I have an out-of-body experience for several hours.

To rise to the challenge: [whether it was working my first pro game in a real stadium (and overcoming more nerves than you can imagine); my first pro game with ESPN/CNNSI present and recording; my first college game on the plate between two top 10 teams in a packed stadium; or working a Class AAAA state championship game in front of thousands of people] and to deliver a solid performance that makes your assignors say, "we had the right man on the job for that game" is what it is all about.

Those are the games for which I umpire all the other games for.

I swear that in the middle of a BIG game...when I KNOW I have my "A" game going...that I can actually feel the hair on my neck begin to stand up.

That is why I'm addicted to umpiring.

[johnnyg08]

well written lawump, well written...yes, I haven't worked games as big as yours...but during my "big games" I feel the same way...there's that level of intensity that's there...just a little bit more intense than the other games that are just as important.

[Emperor Ump]

Originally Posted by lawump

There is nothing more satisfying (and I mean nothing) than having your "A" game with you when you are working a BIG game. Nothing. It is addictive. It is like a drug I crave. After a working such a game ...I swear I have an out-of-body experience for several hours.

To rise to the challenge: [whether it was working my first pro game in a real stadium (and overcoming more nerves than you can imagine); my first pro game with ESPN/CNNSI present and recording; my first college game on the plate between two top 10 teams in a packed stadium; or working a Class AAAA state championship game in front of thousands of people] and to deliver a solid performance that makes your assignors say, "we had the right man on the job for that game" is what it is all about.

Those are the games for which I umpire all the other games for.

I swear that in the middle of a BIG game...when I KNOW I have my "A" game going...that I can actually feel the hair on my neck begin to stand up.

That is why I'm addicted to umpiring.

Amen lawump!

While I haven't had some of the specific pleasures you have had in terms of comperable "big games", I feel it is an honor to be assigned to these "big games." My adrenaline is going, and I am out there to perform well and give my extra efforts - just like the players.

My name is Warren, and I'm an umpiring addict. I haven't called a game in 168 days...