Over The Line Fans

[RedAndWhiteRef]

In a sub-varsity game, I'm not taking shit from anybody in the stands. I don't care if your kid fell on his ass and I didn't have a foul--a high school gymnasium is not the place for you to act like a caveman. In varsity, the stands are usually more full and it's louder and harder to discern what people are saying. That, and I'm laser focused on the action (not that I'm not in other games).

I tune out 99% of what people say while I'm on the court, so if it sticks with me, then it's something I should act on. Fortunately, I haven't had to do that yet.

People will never do this, but they need to realize that it's just high school sports. I didn't even remember most of the scores of my own games a week later when I played high school sports. It may seem like a big deal in the moment, but believe me, it's not. I do baseball too, and some of the stuff I hear out of the parents' mouths just blows my damn mind. Why get so worked up over something that most of the kids are obviously just playing for fun?

[Altor]

Originally Posted by RedAndWhiteRef

Why get so worked up over something that most of the kids are obviously just playing for fun?

Because their little angel is going to go on and be the next LeBron/ARod/Manning. You are obviously depriving them a college scholarship and the fame and fortune of being a professional athlete.

[RedAndWhiteRef]

Originally Posted by Altor

Because their little angel is going to go on and be the next LeBron/ARod/Manning. You are obviously depriving them a college scholarship and the fame and fortune of being a professional athlete.

I have no desire to ever have children, so that's something I'll just never experience I guess

[SD Referee]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Just pretend he is a head coach.

Well.............I see where you are going with that. I'm ready to hit the "T" trail and start handing out.

[SD Referee]

Originally Posted by jpgc99

What level of play? My response here would vary a bit depending on the level and what specifically he is saying.

High school varsity and I don't think it matters what he is saying. Just trying not to give out too much info about myself.

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by SD Referee

High school varsity and I don't think it matters what he is saying. Just trying not to give out too much info about myself.

It certainly does matter what he's saying. You claimed to be a state tourney official, didn't you? I would think you'd have had to deal with this sort of thing on several levels by now throughout your career.

[SD Referee]

Originally Posted by Smitty

It certainly does matter what he's saying. You claimed to be a state tourney official, didn't you? I would think you'd have had to deal with this sort of thing on several levels by now throughout your career.

He was saying something about my appearance. Actually something the complete opposite of my appearance trying to get under my skin. He thought he was pretty funny and clever.

Obviously we all deal with the occasional comment by a fan and that I couldn't care less about, but this guy was riding me for 3/4 of a quarter on every call I made that went against his team.

Since I will be seeing the same guy at another game, and it could happen again, I wanted to know how to handle it.

[jpgc99]

Originally Posted by SD Referee

He was saying something about my appearance. Actually something the complete opposite of my appearance trying to get under my skin. He thought he was pretty funny and clever.

Obviously we all deal with the occasional comment by a fan and that I couldn't care less about, but this guy was riding me for 3/4 of a quarter on every call I made that went against his team.

Since I will be seeing the same guy at another game, and it could happen again, I wanted to know how to handle it.

I'm still not understanding what the guy is saying. If it is an over-the-top personal attack, go tell the game management that he is a problem. Depending on the severity, ask them to remove him or monitor him more closely.

But I'm still not seeing the need to do anything at all based on your cryptic descriptions. I look relatively young and have occasionally had fans make comments about my age. It isn't over the line, excessive, or anything else that requires a response. I ignore it and don't even stop to address it.

[Adam]

1. If it becomes a distraction you can't ignore, have it dealt with by game management. They may just tell him to knock it off, they may have him removed. If what they do doesn't work, insist he is removed.

As we do this longer, our tolerance for #1 goes up.

2. If it's obscene, racial, etc., have GM remove him/her. If you're able to continue the game while they do it, do so. If it's a disruption, or you don't trust gm to be able to deal with it while you're working the game, stop the game until the fan is removed.

This is extreme action, though.