What's in a name???

[zebraman]

I call the coaches "coach" and I prefer that they call me "ref." Yeah, I know most of them, and most of them know me. However, perception is reality. If a coach calls me by name all game long, I just ignore him. Then the next time I see him, I ask him to call me "ref" from now on during games. IMHO, it's about professionalism. Just like having a long conversation in the bleachers with one coach prior to a game can make the other coach think they're going to get homered, the same perception can occur if one coach is thinking that me and the other coach are first name buddies.

Z