"I'm 52 years old, and in all my years..."

[MD Longhorn]

Basketball lurker, football/baseball/softball official here.

I've had many Saturdays where I worked 3-5 75-90 minute football games in the morning and a varsity game that night... or 3-5 60-75 minute softball or baseball games in the morning and a varsity or JV/Vars game at night.

I GUARANTEE you that I and 90% of the other officials I work with in the same boat did what they could to call a decent game but conserve their energy during those peewee or youth games so as to be truly ready for the later contests.

The other factor you're not getting is that when you pay low, the level of official you attract tends to be lower --- not a blanket statement regarding EVERY official you get ... but the average talent/effort is lower because those guys that naturally hustle every game are working somewhere else for more money.