Philosophical state of mind

[Peter Devana]

I guess I agree if you work with the same crew all the time you should share the refs job-but I think you are in the minority . As officials gain more experience they will find themselves in the position where they are the more experienced of their 2 or 3 man team therefore they will get their chances to be the ref. I also think that a lot has to do with personality and credibility. There is no question that some officials come across better when dealing with players .fans and coaches. When everything else is equal these better "communicators" are the best choise for ref in a big game.Comments???
Pistol

[JRutledge]

I personally do not care either way. If I am working with my normal partners, we decide who the R is by who did it last, what school we are at, and how many games we have tonite. If I am working with someone new and that I have never met, it just depends on the person. Some people insist on being the R depending on if they are more experienced or by whatever standard they choose. I really do not feel that it matters for the most part, because if I am the R, yes I might have the final say, but I will not decide anything without the approval or agreement with my partner. We live and die together in my opinion and very seldom is anyone going to say, "he was the R it was all his fault." The would more likely say, "both the officials screwed up." But that is me and what I feel. Next year I will have a game for the first time that the assignor told us what position we would be doing at game time. Other than that, I really do not have an opinion either way. I just want to officiate the game.

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by Indy_Ref
I either put too much thought into my posts...or not enough. No one seems to "get" what I'm saying. ...

We must do it differently here in Indiana.

Indy_Ref --

I have lived my whole life in Oregon except for my college years which were spent in Indiana. I think maybe Hoosier is a separate language, and for sure a different culture -- y'all do everything differently in Indiana!!

Not that that's a bad thing....

[JAdams]

In my part of Ohio, our game assignments don't differentiate between Referee and Umpire(s). We decide in the pregame who will assume what role. Generally (but not always) the accepted R will lead the pregame discussion.

Regarding the earlier post about R deciding all mid-game disputes, I can't ever remember not being able to reach concensus with my partner(s). In the games that I've officiated, whenever there's a discussion about rules or interpretation, all officials on the floor are on equal footing, and we decide together what we saw and how it should be rewarded or penalized. I'm not sure I want to have a partner who exibits the attitude of "I'm the R, and my decision is final."

[Brian Watson]

I think there is nothing worse than when a partner walks in and announces he has a short fuse for the night. What is that??? Only today you're going to be a jerk? I always feel that by saying that they set us up for a bad night, especialy if they toss a coach too quick. I feel they sometimes bait the coach rather than defuse situations.

Indy - in your sit. by quick was it bang - bang, or were the T's spread out? In my opinion, you should never (never say never, but very, very rare) have a bang-bang ejection. Once you hit the coach and report the T, you or your partner should get you the hell away from the bench so this doesn't happen. The longer you linger, the worse it gets. You're jacked, he's jacked, it can only go down hill.

[Peter Devana]

You both got it right in my opinion.
Pistol