What "type" of person does that... ???

[just another ref]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

As part of my job, I got to ride along with some K9 Officers last week patroling the interstate. We pulled one individual over for towing a trailer that hadn't been registered in 12 years.
"Why are you guys always picking on farmers?"

What exactly is your job? And why were you picking on farmers? You sicced the dogs on the farmers?
I have a trailer like that. Hey, I've been busy!!

[Scratch85]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

As part of my job, I got to ride along with some K9 Officers last week patroling the interstate. We pulled one individual over for towing a trailer that hadn't been registered in 12 years.
"Why are you guys always picking on farmers?"

Originally Posted by just another ref

What exactly is your job? And why were you picking on farmers? You sicced the dogs on the farmers?
I have a trailer like that. Hey, I've been busy!!

In my "neck of the woods", everyone has a trailer like that, except Bubba. Bubba's trailer is registered so when the rest of us want to use our trailers, we steal the plates off of Bubba's. We always return them so we know where to get them next time we need them.

Bubba is constantly pissed-off. I will study his human condition a little more and get back to you all on why he is like this.

[Juulie Downs]

In my experience, there are two types, the nothings-ever-my-fault type, and the control freak, that have this issue. I think that's pretty much all coaches, and a fair number of officials. Makes for interesting interactions.

[just another ref]

Originally Posted by Scratch85

In my "neck of the woods", everyone has a trailer like that, except Bubba. Bubba's trailer is registered so when the rest of us want to use our trailers, we steal the plates off of Bubba's. We always return them so we know where to get them next time we need them.

What we actually do is throw a little mud over the corner of the tag so you can't see the year.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Scratch85

In my "neck of the woods", everyone has a trailer like that, except Bubba. Bubba's trailer is registered so when the rest of us want to use our trailers, we steal the plates off of Bubba's. We always return them so we know where to get them next time we need them.

Bubba is constantly pissed-off. I will study his human condition a little more and get back to you all on why he is like this.

All well and good, as long as you remember to keep the unregistered trailer off the interstate.

[cardinalfan]

Originally Posted by Scratch85

In my "neck of the woods", everyone has a trailer like that, except Bubba. Bubba's trailer is registered so when the rest of us want to use our trailers, we steal the plates off of Bubba's. We always return them so we know where to get them next time we need them.

Bubba is constantly pissed-off. I will study his human condition a little more and get back to you all on why he is like this.

Same thing here. Reminds me of an old (bad) joke:

Q: Do you know why all the men in AR have the same size balls?

A: So they can borrow their buddy's trailer!

Bah, da, bing.

[theboys]

I lurk around here a lot, but rarely participate. As part of my penance I figured I'd respond to this thread. Bear with me. Its pretty long.

I don't know why other people act like stupid morons at sporting events, or in other parts of their lives, for that matter, and I've asked myself on many occasions why I acted like a stupid moron at a basketball game. Because, trust me, I used to make an a** of myself on a regular basis. I'm not proud, just confessing.

For me, its funny peculiar, because I'm an otherwise pretty laid back, fun loving person. I don't have anger issues anywhere else. And, I don't always have anger issues at a sporting event. I've coached and played on a lot of teams that lost a lot of games, and have many times walked away with my self-respect intact. Really.

Sometimes I don't, though. My stupidity is always associated with a sitatuion that:

1) I have a lot invested in the team (kids, coaching, alma mater, I'm playing)
2) The game is close (we may or may not be winning)
3) Something seems "unfair" - and I don't mean the referees are cheating. I at least know better than that. JR and I had a debate about that a long time ago. By unfair, I mean, it seems like, for example, the same contact on both ends doesn't yield the same result.
4) My frustration snowballs with other people's frustration

I still don't know exactly why I was such a freakin' idiot, but I suspect it had something to do with me feeling like whatever was going on was happening to "me", and I was frustrated because I felt like I couldn't do anything to make it better (control issue?). So, I lashed out at the only other people involved that I thought I could impact - the referees.

That's why this website has been so good for me over the years. Not only have I learned a ton about the rules of the game, I've also learned a lot about refereeing, the people who ref, and their motivations.

As I wrote in another thread awhile ago, I don't say much at games anymore. As a coach I'm much more focused on the game. I still find myself getting agitated in close games sometimes, but I can catch myself and calm myself down.

Am I completely reformed? I wish. But, at least I don't embarrass myself or my family or friends nearly as often. And, hopefully, I don't make it worse on the referees, players or other fans.

One thing that works real well with me is having an official politely put up his hand in the stop signal and tell me "that's enough". Even as a spectator it shuts me up. I think its because the referee's intervention breaks the "frustration snowball" and returns me to a relatively normal state. Now, I'm not saying its a referee's job to control morons like me. Its certainly not. But, as many of you have expressed in anecdoes with fans and coaches, it often works. Kinda like snapping your fingers at someone and saying, "Hey! Wake up!"

So, thats it. I offer no excuses. I don't want any sympathy. I just hope the next time you ref a game I coach or watch that I don't do anything that results in a thread about me the next day on The Official Forum.