Why you officiate...

[Terrapins Fan]

I love everything about the game.

Everyone has pretty much hit the nail on the head. I exercise, I get paid. I feel pretty much the same as Stewcall does, and the way chayce does too.

Plus chick do dig the uni...

Anyone can play it and they do. 2nd grade to the pros.

We have guys in our association in their 40th year of officiating. I hope I can do it for another 15 to 20 years. But my family is more important than anything else.

[zebraman]

Originally Posted by bgtg19

Everyone (O.K., not everyone, but a lot of people) goes through a stage where they think about hanging up the whistle. I'm going through that now. (Not for age or health reasons - I'm in my 30s and in good shape - just wondering whether all the time and cr@p is worth it.)

Although I'm sure we've had threads like this before, I thought it might be helpful to hear why you do what you do. I certainly understand that my decision will be ... well, my decision. I'm not looking for you to decide for me. I'm just looking for you to share YOUR reasons which might help me as I explore my own. Thanks.

I love officiating basketball for so many reasons. I still get to be associated with the game I have loved all my life. I get a good cardio workout several nights a week and I don't even notice that I'm getting a good cardio workout because I'm so involved in what I am doing. Most of my best friends are refs now so I love the social part of it too.

The sound of squeaking tennis shoes. The smell of popcorn. The roar of a crowd. The band. A great rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.....and on and on.

I can honestly say that the money has nothing to do with it. Even the JC games I do don't pay enough when you figure out how much time and effort you put into it.

I just love it. Love it, love it, love it. When I am no longer passionate about it, I will stop. I just can't imagine that happening though.

[SWMOzebra]

Passion for the game, simple as that. I was never any good at it in my youth, so being the best official I can be mentally and physically is a very VERY small way I can contribute something back to the game.

And, as many others have touched upon, getting paid to exercise 3-5 nights a week doesn't hurt my feelings at all!

[cmckenna]

I do it because of the constant yelling at that I recieve... The constant second guessing... getting questioned about everything..... always feeling like you did everything wrong.... always having someone upset with you...


And that is why I do it.... because officiating gets me out of the house and away from all of the stuff above....

[zebraman]

Originally Posted by cmckenna

I do it because of the constant yelling at that I recieve... The constant second guessing... getting questioned about everything..... always feeling like you did everything wrong.... always having someone upset with you...


And that is why I do it.... because officiating gets me out of the house and away from all of the stuff above....

LOL. Thanks cmckenna, that was a great one.

[tomegun]

Originally Posted by chayce

Basketball is truly a place of high drama. It is a place where man vs man, man vs nature and man vs himself plays out with real characters under the full scrutiny of dedicated yet fickle fans. It is a place where no participant can hide, a place where winners and losers are distinctly labeled, a place where mistakes are magnified into misery and success becomes legendary! This place of athletic theatre requires the careful eye of one who will enforce the rules by which each participant must abide. Stepping onto this stage as an enforcer of rules puts you into one of life’s toughest roles: that of judge (a.k.a. official, referee). After all, why do you think they call it a basketball “court”?

An official just happens to hold the only enforceable view of how well the rules are being followed. If the whistle isn’t blown, there is no foul and a “walk” happens only when a referee gives the designated signal! Regardless of how angry or loud anyone else in the arena might be, the official’s opinion is the only one that truly is official. The thought of being in such tight control can be intoxicating but at times it can also be smothering. When your view is THE view, there is enormous pressure to be right…100% of the time! The sport and its participants certainly deserve nothing less than perfection.

Oh, my…expectations of perfection? Why would anyone even dream of taking a job that has no margin of error, no wiggle room, no tolerance of anything but being flawless? Who in their “right” mind would want a job with no forgiveness for being wrong? In this case, the very questions of who and why ultimately contain the answer. For an official, the pursuit of perfection is the game within a game that draws one to participate. Officials are tormented and teased by the mental and emotional challenge that grows from hunting something that has never been seen. The perfect game is as illusive as Nessie and Big Foot and it is the very reason that the search is so addictive.

The constant nagging in the back of a basketball official’s mind says, “There is no such thing as a perfect game.” It awaits confirmation on the first block/charge! When a referee steps out on the court, he/she is only a whistle away from the worst call some fan or coach has ever seen! The mind says, “You can’t always be right”, but the heart says, “If you work hard enough, the perfect game will come.” It is this life battle between heart and mind that officials live for.

Officiating is much like driving a bus filled with backseat drivers. Every move is second guessed, every decision questioned, and every explanation jeered…by someone. Yet, it is the insatiable desire to prove to everyone that you were right and have a much better chance of being right on the next call than they do, that keeps an official coming back game after game. The passion that officials have for the game comes from the desire to be perfect in an environment that would not recognize perfection even if it existed.




Many officials have careers outside of officiating that are colored by shades of gray. The decisions we make are designated okay, good, better, or best, illustrating that success sometimes comes in degrees. Officiating, however, has no middle ground; you are loved or hated, admired or despised, asked back or eternally uninvited. Everything is seen as good or bad, right or wrong, do or die. There is nothing quite like being a basketball “judge”. When you make the right decision, there is little fanfare because, after all, that is what you are getting paid for. When your judgment fails you, the perfect game once again slips away into hiding and those in the gallery voice that reality with gusto. Right or wrong, a judge must always make a decision and to be considered successful, a basketball official must possess the wisdom and strength to declare guilty or not guilty under the microscope of everyone present: fans, players, coaches, and partners. Ultimately, it is for them that we call the game and unveil the verdict!

Can someone give me the Cliff notes to this?

[REFVA]

I enjoy the game. I played when I was in High school, I loved the sport a lot. I wasn't that good. the love of the game moved onto coaching. The cr@p goes with the territory. I coached and it also has it negatives. Those parent who gave birth to 1 million Jordans are not easy to cope with at all. All of them are the next big NBA star.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by chayce

Basketball is truly a place of high drama. It is a place where man vs man, man vs nature and man vs himself plays out with real characters under the full scrutiny of dedicated yet fickle fans. It is a place where no participant can hide, a place where winners and losers are distinctly labeled, a place where mistakes are magnified into misery and success becomes legendary! This place of athletic theatre requires the careful eye of one who will enforce the rules by which each participant must abide. Stepping onto this stage as an enforcer of rules puts you into one of life’s toughest roles: that of judge (a.k.a. official, referee). After all, why do you think they call it a basketball “court”?

An official just happens to hold the only enforceable view of how well the rules are being followed. If the whistle isn’t blown, there is no foul and a “walk” happens only when a referee gives the designated signal! Regardless of how angry or loud anyone else in the arena might be, the official’s opinion is the only one that truly is official. The thought of being in such tight control can be intoxicating but at times it can also be smothering. When your view is THE view, there is enormous pressure to be right…100% of the time! The sport and its participants certainly deserve nothing less than perfection.

Oh, my…expectations of perfection? Why would anyone even dream of taking a job that has no margin of error, no wiggle room, no tolerance of anything but being flawless? Who in their “right” mind would want a job with no forgiveness for being wrong? In this case, the very questions of who and why ultimately contain the answer. For an official, the pursuit of perfection is the game within a game that draws one to participate. Officials are tormented and teased by the mental and emotional challenge that grows from hunting something that has never been seen. The perfect game is as illusive as Nessie and Big Foot and it is the very reason that the search is so addictive.

The constant nagging in the back of a basketball official’s mind says, “There is no such thing as a perfect game.” It awaits confirmation on the first block/charge! When a referee steps out on the court, he/she is only a whistle away from the worst call some fan or coach has ever seen! The mind says, “You can’t always be right”, but the heart says, “If you work hard enough, the perfect game will come.” It is this life battle between heart and mind that officials live for.

Officiating is much like driving a bus filled with backseat drivers. Every move is second guessed, every decision questioned, and every explanation jeered…by someone. Yet, it is the insatiable desire to prove to everyone that you were right and have a much better chance of being right on the next call than they do, that keeps an official coming back game after game. The passion that officials have for the game comes from the desire to be perfect in an environment that would not recognize perfection even if it existed.




Many officials have careers outside of officiating that are colored by shades of gray. The decisions we make are designated okay, good, better, or best, illustrating that success sometimes comes in degrees. Officiating, however, has no middle ground; you are loved or hated, admired or despised, asked back or eternally uninvited. Everything is seen as good or bad, right or wrong, do or die. There is nothing quite like being a basketball “judge”. When you make the right decision, there is little fanfare because, after all, that is what you are getting paid for. When your judgment fails you, the perfect game once again slips away into hiding and those in the gallery voice that reality with gusto. Right or wrong, a judge must always make a decision and to be considered successful, a basketball official must possess the wisdom and strength to declare guilty or not guilty under the microscope of everyone present: fans, players, coaches, and partners. Ultimately, it is for them that we call the game and unveil the verdict!

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by tomegun

Can someone give me the Cliff notes to this?

Rambo is a referee.

[iref4him]

There are so many reasons mentioned already that I am not going to re-hash those. The one thing I love about officiating - For 1 1/2 or more --> the cares of the world and what's going on in my life are forgotten. I am in the zone and I have escaped into that zone. Everything else is gone. Sounds crazy but it is my stress relief.

[rainmaker]

Originally Posted by iref4him

There are so many reasons mentioned already that I am not going to re-hash those. The one thing I love about officiating - For 1 1/2 or more --> the cares of the world and what's going on in my life are forgotten. I am in the zone and I have escaped into that zone. Everything else is gone. Sounds crazy but it is my stress relief.

Sounds good to me, but it's not what I expected. From your screen name, I figured you'd say that "I ref for Him!"

[grunewar]

I played - and got too old.

I coached - and then my kids got too old.

Now, I ref and love it. Especially since now I know a heck of a lot more than I ever did as a player and a coach. I'm starting to really understand the game!

[kbilla]

Where else can you experience anything like it? I would never equate officiating to war, but having never been nor ever planning on going, it might be the closest I will ever do. It is you and your two partners and then there is everyone else. Take it seriously and do a good job and you are doing everyone in the gym a service that you can be proud of....whether they realize it or not!=)

[Ref Daddy]

Two reasons:

1) the Challange. I read that public speaking is the average person's greatest fear. I feel refereeing an athletic contest is even more demanding. It is a real test of personal discipline. Offer your whistle one time to that parent raising cain in the stands and see what happens.

2) The Kids: No referee, no contest except in the school yard. Basketball will soon become a game unfamiliar to me if that is where it survives without competent officials.

[refnrev]

1. I do it because I love it -- all three sports.
2. I love the interaction with the kids and other officials.
3. I love it because it is so different than what I do for a living.
4. I like having a hobby that I am good at and can keep being challenged and grow.
5. It has helped me learn that most of the time when people complain about things it really isn't about me, but their situation.
6. I feel so much better physically and emotionally during all three seasons.
7. I look good in stripes and have this thing for polyester!


Sure there are nights I think about hanging up the stripes. I went through a real slump recently and just wasn't having much fun. See my thread "It finally dawned on me." from a few days ago. Then I have a HS game like the one tonight with the flow and the pace and the loud crowds in the gym and the calls... as long as I still get that rush.... at least sometimes.... I'm going to stick with it. Ride out the lows because they do pass. Enjoy the highs because they feel so good! Try to find the balance.