Venting

[Terrapins Fan]

Humor me for a second......

Tonight I drove 90 minutes to do 2 middle school games....girls middle school.

Game 1- 7th grade girls. Game goes very well and it's a 2 point game at the end. Home team wins.

Game 2- 8th grade girls. Home takes charge and in control the whole game. in the 4th quarter a home fan unhappy with several of my calls is yelling and yelling and yelling about EVERY call I make, " call it both ways" , " If it was a foul at the other end, it's a foul at this end too" " You're Terrible" OVER AND OVER AND OVER...I NEVER let a fan bother me, but this guy got under my skin, during a dead ball, I turned to the stands, not know which guy it was, and said "I don't know who it is that is yelling, but if I hear one more word, you won't be in this gym" . That was it, everything was fine after that.

I'd prefer not to address the fans, but in this case it was worth it. I don't know either of these two teams, I live over 60 miles away. I couldn't care less who wins, and it's a middle school game......

BTW, it's a great school to ref at because they give you free a hot dog ( they are great ), soda and popcorn!

[mplagrow]

Originally Posted by Terrapins Fan

BTW, it's a great school to ref at because they give you free a hot dog ( they are great ), soda and popcorn!

You have no idea what you just set off, do you? Here come the "referee bought by a bottle of water" comments!

[Dan_ref]

You're out of your mind.

Drive 120 miles to do 2 girl's middle school games?

Then let a fan get to you??!

Current IRS travel rates are like 48 cents per mile. I bet you lost more than you made, and you had the trip back to ponder the loud fan.

[swkansasref33]

Originally Posted by mplagrow

You have no idea what you just set off, do you? Here come the "referee bought by a bottle of water" comments!

haha holy sh!t... that was a bad thread that was...lol... now we know why the 7th grade team won haha just kiddin

[Terrapins Fan]

That's what I did, Paid my dues. My 7th year refereeing, we each should travel at least twice a year to this school. This was my 2nd trip. My dues are paid.

[Adam]

I think most of us have been there at some point; especially those who get games from an association assigner. Maybe not for middle school, but I've done my share of traveling for JV games.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

You're out of your mind.

Drive 120 miles to do 2 girl's middle school games?

Then let a fan get to you??!

Current IRS travel rates are like 48 cents per mile. I bet you lost more than you made, and you had the trip back to ponder the loud fan.

Sometimes you don't have a choice. We have a school that's 65-85 miles from most officials in our association. Someone has to cover their JV games (no doubleheaders for officials except for one small HS), so a lot time someone has to drive 65-85 miles one way to work a game for $38 plus $10 travel. Now luckily, we do have 2-3 officials who live about 15 miles from the school so they get a lot of work at that school, but they can't work there every game.

[Old School]

Originally Posted by Terrapins Fan

Game 2- 8th grade girls. Home takes charge and in control the whole game. in the 4th quarter a home fan unhappy with several of my calls is yelling and yelling and yelling about EVERY call I make, " call it both ways" , " If it was a foul at the other end, it's a foul at this end too" " You're Terrible" OVER AND OVER AND OVER...I NEVER let a fan bother me, but this guy got under my skin, during a dead ball, I turned to the stands, not know which guy it was, and said "I don't know who it is that is yelling, but if I hear one more word, you won't be in this gym." That was it, everything was fine after that.

Way to take care of business. I applaud you! Next time, don't go against every fan in the gym because not all of them are involved. If you are going to address the fans, find the perpetrator first. All you need to do is identify him/her. Then give them the stare. Most of the time this is all you need do and it may save you a few words you could later regret. Then if that don't work, you can issue the ultimatum to the fan in question.

One thing I should caution you on issuing ultimatums. Be prepared to follow-thru.

I'd prefer not to address the fans, but in this case it was worth it.

That's right, get a little off your chest and it makes the ride back home a little better. Last night, I ejected my first player ever. I hate it when you get pushed to that point.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Old School

If you are going to address the fans, find the perpetrator first. All you need to do is identify him/her. Then give them the stare.

Absolutely terrible advice...never to be used by any real official.

Do NOT stare at fans. You ignore them or you unload them. You are not there to antagonize them. If you ever try that nonsense, believe me, you might find yourself in a situation that you do not want to be in. Other than being completely unprofessional, it's also stoopid.

[Jway44]

If you give the fans any sign that you are paying them attention, it will only get worse. Just remind yourself that there is a reason that you are on the floor, and they are in the stands. You are going home with the check in your pocket and they paid to watch you work. (not really, but you know what I mean) The best way to handle fans is to completely ignore them. If they think that you are the least bit bothered, they will only get worse. If they use profanity or do something that requires action, go to game management and let them handle it. We are there to do a service for the schools, not the fans in the stands. Ignore them, always smile, and remember that you and your partners are the only people in the gym who do not care how the contest ends. Everyone else in the building is there pulling for one team or the other, so there is automatic bias toward anyone that is not "for" their team.

[IREFU2]

Originally Posted by Terrapins Fan

Humor me for a second......

Tonight I drove 90 minutes to do 2 middle school games....girls middle school.

Game 1- 7th grade girls. Game goes very well and it's a 2 point game at the end. Home team wins.

Game 2- 8th grade girls. Home takes charge and in control the whole game. in the 4th quarter a home fan unhappy with several of my calls is yelling and yelling and yelling about EVERY call I make, " call it both ways" , " If it was a foul at the other end, it's a foul at this end too" " You're Terrible" OVER AND OVER AND OVER...I NEVER let a fan bother me, but this guy got under my skin, during a dead ball, I turned to the stands, not know which guy it was, and said "I don't know who it is that is yelling, but if I hear one more word, you won't be in this gym" . That was it, everything was fine after that.

I'd prefer not to address the fans, but in this case it was worth it. I don't know either of these two teams, I live over 60 miles away. I couldn't care less who wins, and it's a middle school game......

BTW, it's a great school to ref at because they give you free a hot dog ( they are great ), soda and popcorn!

If the fans start getting disruptive, have them removed by alerting game management. Thats will hurt more then the stare down tactic!

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Jway44

If you give the fans any sign that you are paying them attention, it will only get worse. Just remind yourself that there is a reason that you are on the floor, and they are in the stands. You are going home with the check in your pocket and they paid to watch you work. (not really, but you know what I mean) The best way to handle fans is to completely ignore them. If they think that you are the least bit bothered, they will only get worse. If they use profanity or do something that requires action, go to game management and let them handle it. We are there to do a service for the schools, not the fans in the stands. Ignore them, always smile, and remember that you and your partners are the only people in the gym who do not care how the contest ends. Everyone else in the building is there pulling for one team or the other, so there is automatic bias toward anyone that is not "for" their team.

So the other night when I told a fan he "didn't have the nutz to officiate", I was being unprofessional?

[IREFU2]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

So the other night when I told a fan he "didn't have the nutz to officiate", I was being unprofessional?

You know better then to acknowledge a fan!!!! Bad Ref!!!!

[Jway44]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

So the other night when I told a fan he "didn't have the nutz to officiate", I was being unprofessional?

Probably not a good idea. The thing about it, in our varsity association, you never know if an evaluator is sitting in the stands or not. They tend to show up often, and hide amongst the crowd until after the game. I don't think that they would like the idea of making comments into the crowd.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Jway44

Probably not a good idea. The thing about it, in our varsity association, you never know if an evaluator is sitting in the stands or not. They tend to show up often, and hide amongst the crowd until after the game. I don't think that they would like the idea of making comments into the crowd.

Luckily I was working an intramural game at a Navy base. I know I shouldn't have said it but my teen-age son had really pissed me off that day so I needed to vent at someone, so I picked this a$$-hole who was sitting behind one of the benches. I'm retired Air Force so it felt good to take out my wrath on a Navy puke.