What's in your pregame?

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by bucky

Never, ever, ever, begin play with doubt in your head.

Great advice.

I began a play with a doubt in my mind two seasons ago and it effected a game that should not have gone into overtime, with the offended team losing.

Very late in a close game, my partner called a double free throw violation, that I didn't see. He sounded his whistle, announced a "double violation", and announced the penalty. I could tell by his body language and the sound of his voice that he didn't seem 100% sure, but he was a top notch official and I didn't want to question him. I became the administering official and handed the ball to the team that he had announced.

Immediately after the game I asked him about the call. He explained what he observed, I politely questioned his call, and we both got out our books and looked it up. Sure enough, he got the call wrong, it wasn't a double violation. As soon as we came to this realization, there was a knock on the door, the offended coach, who lost the game in overtime, politely asked about the play. We had to admit that we screwed up, and we apologized. He surprisingly accepted.

I was a bad partner that night. If had questioned my partner at the time, we never would have screwed up.