Pants: Sansabelt vs. Smitty

[constable]

Originally Posted by tjones1

Are there still officials who use a pea whistle?

It is in my boards constitution that one must use a fox 40. They don't care if it is a mini, classic, or sonik but it's gotta be a fox.

[Rich]

I talk with lower level officials and I've frequently had guys ask where we buy our pants. I give them the names of official supply houses and brands and then they ask how much the pants cost. When I tell them, they say something like "Walmart is good enough for me." I can tell. Maybe the average fan can't, but when people's pants have white pockets that show when they run up and down the court, an official certainly can. Part of this game is credibility and yes, I want to be seen as credible by other officials and my partners.

I would never dream of buying an officiating shirt "off the rack" at Dick's Sporting Goods or another one of those places that sells the 30-grit polyester shirt that would've been stylish in 1977. Times have changed. We do get paid for this gig and expecting us to spend a couple hundred dollars a season to buy decent pants, shirts, and shoes isn't too much to ask, really.