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Old Tue Feb 12, 2008, 06:18pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hunter Johnson
I agree completely. I don't even raise my voice to them. If I have a disagreement on a call, I normally just wait until a break in play and ask them about it. 90% of the time(if it is one of the nicer SEC guys), they will come over and explain it to me. There is no profanity or anything like that, and that is why I think they are so will to come talk to us. They know we aren't going to scream at them or show them up, so they feel a little more comfortable. In my 4 years at Alabama, I have only missed 1 SEC game(home or away), and I haven't been to any other arena where it is like this.
That is awesome. That kind of stuff makes the game better for everyone. I would talk to people before or after if I've been there a few times, but I have a hard time doing that during a game. That is one of the great aspects of being an official: the respectful personal relationships you can build with others. By the way, you guys were tremendous when I watched a Crimson game on ESPN a few weeks back. Great support for your team. Good luck.
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Old Tue Feb 12, 2008, 06:36pm
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I was in the same position (seat) at the University of Oregon. Some refs were great, most were indifferent. I was threatened with ejection just once in 12 years. (Started young!)

Because of that experience I am able to tune out the heckles and jeers. Rarely do I interact with fans.

Worked a game in a small town recently; when our names were announced the fans applauded. Wow, how cool!, I thought. My cynical side immediately thought, 'you might want to hold that applause until you see me work.' Then I had a sucky game.

Btw, if you see a Ducks home game today, it's a funeral home in comparison to how we rocked the joint.
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Old Tue Feb 12, 2008, 06:55pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MadCityRef
I was in the same position (seat) at the University of Oregon. Some refs were great, most were indifferent. I was threatened with ejection just once in 12 years. (Started young!)

Because of that experience I am able to tune out the heckles and jeers. Rarely do I interact with fans.

Worked a game in a small town recently; when our names were announced the fans applauded. Wow, how cool!, I thought. My cynical side immediately thought, 'you might want to hold that applause until you see me work.' Then I had a sucky game.

Btw, if you see a Ducks home game today, it's a funeral home in comparison to how we rocked the joint.
We are able to find out who the officials are a few hours before the game. If it's one of the officials we really like(Tony Greene, Doug Sirmons, Ted Valentine, Bert Smith, Joe Lindsay, Anthony Jordan), we will sometimes make signs that say something like "Mark's Madness welcomes Tony Greene". They seem to get a kick out of it.
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Old Tue Feb 12, 2008, 08:34pm
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Small Town ...

I've worked over thirty games at one of the smallest high schools in Connecticut. Before recently building a new gym, their old gym had bleachers on only one side of the gym. On the other side, there were always a couple of dozen folding chairs, in one row, along the sideline. The student fans sat in the bleachers. The folding chairs seemed to be reserved for the senior citizens of the town, and since this small town had nothing else to do on a Tuesday, or Friday night, these older gentlemen would attend all the home games, both boys and girls. They eventually got to know me by name, and their proximity to the court allowed for some interaction between myself, and them. Did they give me a hard time when a call went against their beloved team? Sure did. But it wasn't mean spirited, or unsportmanslike. If I were administering a throw in on their side, after one of my "terrible" calls, I would occassionally ask them if they had a different call than me. They were seldom all on the same page. They would actually argue with each other, not with me, about the call. There's a new larger gym there now. These senior citizens are now spread out, up somewhere in the bleachers. Believe it or not, I really miss them.

Last edited by BillyMac; Tue Feb 12, 2008 at 08:43pm.
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Old Tue Feb 12, 2008, 10:22pm
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Had a game in a small gym last night. About 4 rows of bleachers on each side. My partner was in the corner during a timeout where he was going to administer the throw-in. The home team had just given up a 26-4 quarter and the gap was not going to get closed. There were 3 or 4 guys 'cheering' for the home team and of course not al calls went in their favor. My partner asked if they were the official cheerleaders for the home team. They answered in the affirmative. He then asked them where their skirts and pom poms were. They all had a good laugh and we finished the game without any problems. That won't happen every game of course, but it seemed to work last night.
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Old Tue Feb 12, 2008, 06:37pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOracle
That is awesome. That kind of stuff makes the game better for everyone. I would talk to people before or after if I've been there a few times, but I have a hard time doing that during a game. That is one of the great aspects of being an official: the respectful personal relationships you can build with others. By the way, you guys were tremendous when I watched a Crimson game on ESPN a few weeks back. Great support for your team. Good luck.
I think it makes the game better as well. I have learned a great deal about the nuances of basketball in my time as a student. And it was the SEC refs who told me that I should get into officiating.

And thanks for the complement. I just wish our season was going a little better.
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