Vertigo

rainmaker · #1 (**permalink**) Thu Feb 27, 2003, 11:35pm

Had the most mixed-up game tonight, several times I just felt like I'd had a little too much of the...

To start off, blue got the tip. I tossed, so I wasn't watching the ball. About 2 seconds, partner calls the backcourt violation. She had an odd look on her face, kinda confused, and then called, "White ball?" I ran to the endline, she inbounded the ball, white player passes it to a teammate who goes to the "Wrong" end of the court for an uncontested lay-up. White fans are laughing and yelling. Blue feels confused and looks baffled -- as did I, who had gone to the truly wrong end followed by all the players except these two who knew what was up. Finally realized that I had taken my cue from blue who had headed the wrong way, thus the backcourt. Partner called it, but then thought perhaps she'd done somehting wrong, since players all went the wrong way -- and so did her partner!

And that was just the first 10 seconds of the game!!

As it progressed, blue was fouling a lot and hard. White wasn't. It wasn't long before a fan behind the blue bench was yelling "Call it both ways, ref!!" Very distinctive voice, always the same drone. But he called it on both ends, regardless of who had the ball and what the situation was!! Very confusing.

Then the blue coach started throwing me off. In the third quarter, as her player is inbounding under the far basket, she's yelling to the other blue players, "Find a player and put a body on her." I looked back, no, blue is on offense. I looked at the coach, it was the blue coach, yelling to her girls on offense, "Put a body on someone!" My head was spinning!!

Finally, I looked up near the end of the game, and the two varsity coaches were sitting ON EACH OTHER"S BENCHES!! I felt like I just got off an amusement park ride, the kind you throw up at the end of. Looked hard at the restroom sign before I went in!!

just another ref · #2 (**permalink**) Fri Feb 28, 2003, 01:11am

Was this some kind of weird fantasy thing where you woke up and you were married to Ted Turner and then you could just go to Atlanta Hawks games and complain about the officials?

rainmaker · #3 (**permalink**) Fri Feb 28, 2003, 02:09am

Quote:

Originally posted by just another ref
Was this some kind of weird fantasy thing where you woke up and you were married to Ted Turner and then you could just go to Atlanta Hawks games and complain about the officials?

... (looking over at husband, NOT Ted Turner) well, I guess not, although I may still wake up later, I suppose.

firedoc · #4 (**permalink**) Fri Feb 28, 2003, 09:02am

This is actually one of the best and funniest posts I've seen on this site ever. I still giggle when I think about it. Its probably even funnier because we are all so glad that this type of thing never happened when we were the official in the hot seat. Keep up the good work Rainmaker.

ChuckElias · #5 (**permalink**) Fri Feb 28, 2003, 09:13am

Juulie, why would both coaches be sitting on the wrong benches? Was this a leftover effect from going the wrong way to start the game? There has to be more to that part of the story. . .

Chuck

rainmaker · #6 (**permalink**) Fri Feb 28, 2003, 09:37am

Quote:

Originally posted by ChuckElias
Juulie, why would both coaches be sitting on the wrong benches? Was this a leftover effect from going the wrong way to start the game? There has to be more to that part of the story. . .

Chuck

Two possibilities: 1) I had seen these two talking and laughing together throughout the game, in various parts of the gym, and I suppose it's possible that they had some plan for shaking each girls' hand, or maybe doing something to prepare for the varsity game (remember this was JV). 2) When I did a game at this school last week, home had sat on the other bench from this week. It may be that this was part of the confusion, and the varsity coaches were just staking out their territory for the next game. All the way around, a very disorienting evening.