"Fat" officials

[SMEngmann]

The one thing as a young official that make me laugh is the constant bemoaning of the role that politics plays in getting assignments. Sure, politics may play a role, but it's the easiest out, the equivalent of saying, "I don't play because my coach doesn't like me." People who tend to dwell on politics seem to focus more on things out of their control, rather than things that are in their control, like improving their game (including appearance and conditioning). If you feel like you're being stiffed by an assignor, all you can do is improve to the point where he has no choice but to use you or to a point where you can move on to bigger and better things. One thing I know about assignors is that they can't continually send bad officials to games out of personal loyalty because then the schools and leagues will complain about the officiating and soon the assignor will be out of a job. The assignor has a vested interest in providing good officials and his reputation is on the line.

In terms of the weight thing, I think it's a very big deal. People who aren't in shape have less credibility automatically and cannot possibly call their best possible game because their bodies won't allow them to, just like an overweight athlete is not in his best shape to compete. More and more officials are like athletes and they should get in, and stay in good shape.