Welmer Drinking game has commenced
 

He is on again tonight, Indiana at Wisconsin. And for those keeping track he is already up past 10.

This drinking game is going to become a habit if you are not careful. You will be drinking every single night, it is going to be hard to go to work without a hangover and take care of your family. I suggest some start calling AA right now. ;)

Peace

I just bumped Juulie's thread. Didn't know this one was here... ;)

Or just figure out how to get Steve Welmer to retire!

71 games and counting. My wife is even getting a kick of seeing him somewhere every night.

You're counting!?!?! You need to get a life!

I watched the movie Blue Chips today and damned if Welmer wasn't in two of the games in the movie.

JRut published the link a while back to the D1 Officials and their game totals. Welmer is currently listed at 72 - the guy works the big games every day! And of course, drives us to drink......:p

I was flipping between ESPN and ESPN2 (Duke/NC State). I didn't see any pants pulling, so I couldn't tell which one was Welmer. Guess I wasn't timing my flips right.

What's with those shoes he had on? Looked like he was doing a rec league.

In HD on a 40 incher, they looked half white.

I was wondering about this too. Seems in D-1, apparently it's ok to have some white on your shoes?

I don't mind him at all but does he look at ESPN's schedule before he picks which game he works?? He must be on the tube 3 times a week.

Possibly, but if living includes taking a drink everytime someone adjusts their sansabelts .... pot .. kettle .. black?

LOL!! Touche...

(although, I don't really actually play that game, uh, right. No, I just happened to, er... , uh, notice. Yea, that's right. I heard about it from someone else. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

Does anybody still have the link?

It is OK at all levels based on where you live and who you work for. Several of my shoes have white on them and no one cares.

Peace

Not a good look IMHO. It looked like he forgot his shoes, and borrowed someones from the track team. When your partners have uniformity and he differentiates, it's not a good idea. It was glaringly noticable, even on TV.

Bob Knight has called Whelmers the best baseline referee, because under the basket he doesn't pull!:D

You are not going to have "uniformity" when it comes to shoes. You never will and it is very unrealistic to think you can achieve that. If one official wears patent leather shoes should everyone where the same shoe? Of course not. Nor would I expect everyone to wear the same style pants or shirts for that matter.

Peace

Last night I worked a rec game with a guy whose shirt not only had a collar, but also had a breast pocket! He said he bought it in 1986. I believed him. His lanyard was about an inch wide, too. I think it was a ribbon his wife got at a fabric store or something.

Oh yeah - he wore black rimmed glasses with adhesive tape wrapped around the nose bridge.

All that was missing was a pocket protector and some pens. ;)

At least he had a Fox 40.

[QUOTE=JRutledge]You are not going to have "uniformity" when it comes to shoes. You never will and it is very unrealistic to think you can achieve that. If one official wears patent leather shoes should everyone where the same shoe? Of course not. Nor would I expect everyone to wear the same style pants or shirts for that matter.

Peace[/QUOte

Sure you can, wear black shoes, that's uniformity

There was some talk in a women's conference about banning patent leather shoes as they draw too much attention. IMO that's a little over the top.

That said, the shoes are all black. 'Style' is different than color. I like stripes, can't I have a white one down my pants? Same logic.



Hey, black is beautiful!

Did he have his black and white shoes to match?

Seriously, I'd like to buy that shirt for a joke. Do you know the guy?

For the record the shoes we are talking about are black. Are they entirely black? No. But the problem with that expectation is that you cannot find shoes that are entirely black unless you go to an official's store like Honigs, Gerry Davis or any other Official's supply store. And many people do not like the options you can buy from those stores. The shoes I have bought recently are not from any of those places I mentioned. I have recently found shoes that fit better feel better and look better in actual shoe stores or online. And if you look at most college officials, you do not see the style of shoes coming from the stores I just mentioned.

I do not think I have seen a single Division 1 Men's officials wear a pair of patent leather shoes.

Style has to do with logos, fabrics used and not all the time are you going to find all black that everyone likes on their feet or are comfortable. There are many people that do not like the patent leather shoes and it has nothing to do with the color. The best patent leather shoe that was ever made is no longer made anymore (Converse All-Stars).

The bottom line I have yet to see an assignor that is not hiring someone because they have a logo that is white or gray. And certainly not an assignor at the college ranks.

Peace

I go back and forth on patent leathers. A plus is they are extremely light, but break down faster. Shoes are trendy, and brands change from year to year.

What about our 'white jackets' in Illinois?

You're correct, just conversation on appearance, small potatos in the scheme of things.

Did you do Christmas tourney game at Wheeling a few years back? A ref had black shoes with white stripes or something on them. Resembled you from vid you posted.

white jackets?

interesting.

We wear black.

It didn't have "Foot Locker" embroidered on it? :D

What about them? They are not allowed to be worn.

Peace

Saw a varsity crew in Iowa wear white jackets a few years ago.

Is that new this year?

There is an elite association in Illinois with many of the top officials, they have their own 'white jackets' Kind of a special forces type thing.

They may have been banned this year, I haven't seen any, Rut claims they can't wear them.

How about a black jacket with a little bit of white in it?

I was the one who found out that Welmer had worked soo many nights about a month and a half ago. Couldnt believe how much he works. Its unreal. I dont agree with it and never will. Not that I dont think he is a good official, its the simple fact that their are other up and coming officials that could be working instead of him. He will easily go over 100 nights and too me that is a joke.

I hate to burst your bubble, but we've been talking about Welmer here for years. And the consensus seems to be, "Who cares?"

It is not a claim, they are not allowed by the state. Now just because someone wears one does not mean it is allowed by the powers that be. I see officials wearing the "side-panel" shirts but that does not mean you are not supposed to wear them.

Do not get confused about what is allowed as to what people will do anyway. Just like the speed limit is 65 on most intestate roads does not mean there are not people that will go 85. Same thing when it comes to specific uniform items.

Peace

I also hate to burst your bubble, but the coaches want him and several others working their games. They do not want some "young kid" working their games and screwing up their million dollar bonus because they cannot handle a national TV audience. And Welmer is not taking away games from a young guy at all. He is working in the place of another big time official that is just under the level Welmer is. Also if you watch the other officials Welmer works with, they are working a similar schedule. And if Welmer was not appreciated by the schools and coaches, he would not be there. And it really does not matter what you or I think about it.

Peace

Where did he come from and what is his background?

Who raised the dead????? :eek:

He works that many games because the assignors want him. More power to him.

this sounds crazy! what makes them so elite?

OR are these jackets given to the guys who make the state tourny?

Or, since our shirts are black and white striped, how about matching jackets?

http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/31436...5A1E4F32AD3138

Not to worry.

Different Old School.

No confusion at all.

Elite might be the wrong choice of words, it's more 'clubby' and you have to be asked to join the association. The officials I know personally in the group are all top officials AND good guys.

Ahhh B.S. There are plenty of others out there that are capable. Im not buying this B.S one minute. How the hell else are the other young guns supposed to get exposure when he does every damn game?

Theres quite a few D1 guys who frequent this board, and they might not posters but lurkers, possibly even some evals, etc. who work camps you might go to, who might decide if you possibly get to work the D1 level. I'd be careful, because I've learned, stuff you say on the internet can come back to you.

I am not asking you to buy anything. But the young gun officials are not up for his games. It is a numbers game and Welmer like Hightower, Burr, Ted Higgins (and the other Higgins) are at the top of the food chain. Officials trying to break in are lucky if they get non-conference game between the worst team of the league and a team with so many hyphens that you did not even know that was a school with that name. If Welmer works in the Big 12 on any night in that conference that leaves 5 other games and 15 other officials working games on a particular night or afternoon. And Welmer is not working the two worst teams in that conference, he is working the big game of the night that is featured on national television. Games that are on national TV are not games that do not feature the top teams or the best match-ups in that conference. That is why you are not seeing a bunch of games on ESPN with Nebraska or Iowa State on a regular basis.

I will give you a better example. Last year Ed Hightower got a bad knee injury and Hightower was out almost the entire year. Guess who replaced him? It was not young officials that barely worked in those big time conferences. He was replaced with other officials that had been working in those leagues for years and might have picked up a game or two individually to cover the hole left by Hightower. And if you do not believe me, just look up the information on the Basketball State website and you can look at the schedules of many officials across the country. There are a lot of names on that list and you will see that Welmer is not the only one working games.

Peace

Earn it maybe?

Welmer did, whether you like him or not.

No, a patch is given to our state final officials. It can be placed on the shirt under the IHSA patch.

He doesn't do even close to every damn game. There are plenty of other games going on where you can catch the attention of an assignor and gradually get moved up. It's just that you don't see them on TV. There are two other people working with Welmer. Perhaps one of them is doing his first TV game. He worked his way up by starting at the bottom and doing a good job -- just like Welmer did.