New Coach-ism

[SMEngmann]

I still don't see how it benefits anyone to talk to fans, especially if you draw attention to yourself and the fan. What if the fan who had been complaining about a bad call responded with some sort of demeaning remark when you questioned him about it? What do you do then? You either let the abuse get more personal or you've just baited the fan into an ejection. Worse, you could get yourself into a confrontation later in the game. In all cases, the only benefit is the reduction of a minor annoyance ("that was a bad call" is hardly abusive), but the cost of escalation is much greater and the focus is taken away from the players and put on you and a fan. Some officials can pull this off, but most should just ignore the fan and act professionally. Most of the time they're paying to be there while you're getting paid.