Last night: Varsity boys game. In the first minute I am running by the visiting bench and I hear some comments about something. Next time down at that end two fans seated right next to the player on the end of the bench (bleachers) are complaining about a 3-sec. call and I mean really screaming.

Not a very loud gym at this point. Next time down the same thing. Very loud and making it hard for anyone to enjoy the game. My partner blows his whistle and goes over and warns them to stop it or they are gone. I've never seen 2 guys as crazy as they were.

It seems like their MO was to disrupt the officials from the start. I asked the head coach if they were coaches and he shook his head. I told the two guys to vacate those seats and move up farther into the stands since they were sitting on the bench.

I think I had the right to T them up with the head coach getting the indirect T but I decided to move them. After they moved we never heard a word and the game was enjoyable for everyone.

The head coach should have addressed it before the game even started, unless he's used to the "support" from his fans.

Great way to handle the situation. The only thing that I might have done differently is to have the head coach (since technically they were bench personel) or game management tell the guys to move, rather than talk to fans yourself.

Good job removing the fans from the bench area. I've always asked the question of "Will a T make the game better?" before delivering. IMO you all handled the situation in the best way possible.

I don't know why you think a head coach would ever get an indirect from the action of the fans. What rule is that? Just because they are sitting on the first row of bleachers doesn't make them "bench personnel."

It was a good move to get them up higher in the bleachers, but I think you are always better off to go to game management first for dealing with fans rather than having the officials deal with it.

Z

The 2 guys were sitting 2 inches from the last player on the bench and there was an aisle that clearly separated the bench area from the rest of the bleachers. If you looked at the bench, you'd assume they were part of the team and there was no way to distinguish them from the rest of the bench personnel. That's why I had to ask the head coach if they were coaches. They clearly chose to sit right next to the team. There was no game management visible anywhere (typical situation). Had they not moved, I would have gone to the table to have them page whoever was in charge. I think maybe the AD was out in the lobby selling tickets. This happens in a small school.

I would have also treated these guys like bench personel. They are sitting with the team on the bench. This makes them the responsibility of the coach and easier to deal with. I would, however, make sure I told the coach this and let him deal with them before throwing a T.

fannus ignoramus:
A subspecies of homosapiens known to frequent sporting events. Can be easily identified by mating cry of "three seconds" or "over the back", often accompanied by wild articulating gestures and occasional rabid foaming at the mouth.

Fans are idiots

Other day I'm working a blowout game, home team is up by 700 points. Home team has like 6 fouls, visiting team 1. I call a foul on visiting team, some idiot in the stands yells "call it both ways"

After a game, when confronted by an idiot who said we called fouls in an unequal ratio, I told him that I don't use a quota system.

That should tell you something;; if the refs called fouls in an unequal ratio, then one of the teams fouling ability was also an unequal ratio.

I have decided that "Call It Both Ways" is the official mating call of the Howler Monkey!" As for unequal numbers of fouls, why don't we see a foul, blow the whistle, then flip a coin to see which team to give it to. That would be just about as stupid as most of the comments we hear from stands.

There was no "and-one" being hollared everytime someone went to shoot?

The other day, a player gets the ball off the jump and starts to dribble downcourt. A defender reaches out and grabs his arm, so I call the foul. What do I hear from the stands? "Call it both ways!" We were exactly 6 seconds into the game.

My conclusion: "Call it both ways!" means "Call it to help my team!"

I had a player one day tell me to call it both ways the foul count was white 5 red 3... The kid who told me this was on the white team. I turned him and told him "that's easy the next two fouls are on your team...." a teammate turned to him and told him to shut up, it was great!

Nope, Sara, I think you have mistranslated. Call it both ways is literally translated, "I'm an idiot!"