Partner takes care of jerk fanboy

[Mark Padgett]

Last night, there was some clown sitting in the second row near the baseline. He looked to be about in his late 30s or early 40s. Three times, he yelled at my partner stating that my partner "didn't know the rules". Of course, my partner had it right every time. One was letting a team run the endline after a made basket and a timeout, another was having a shooter catch his own airball (although the kid's hair was so long it could have been a "hairball") on a valid shot attempt and the third was not having a five second count when the ball handler picked up his dribble on about the three count and held it for about three more seconds before passing.

At the quarter break, my partner goes over to the stands, points at the guy and announces "Folks, we are in the presence of a real rules expert here. This gentleman apparently knows the rules better than the two officials on the floor who have almost 40 years experience between them. Make sure you come over at halftime and get his autograph." He then looked at the guy and said loudly, "Sir, how many years have you officiated and what was your score on this year's rules test - 100%?"

Lots of people started laughing, most of them directly at the guy. Guess what happened? HE GOT UP AND LEFT!!! He didn't come back, either.

I wish I had it on video.