Why do officials...

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

I figure I wear the jacket for 30 minutes a night. It comes off during the introductions, spends a half at the table, and then gets carried back to the locker room (except for the handful of places that take the jackets back for us) folded and put into my bag.

I'd be more than happy to dispose of this tradition, personally.

We rarely wear them, except for tourneys and playoffs. It's a waste of money and it's a suckass jacket.

Originally Posted by RichMSN

The worst jackets I ever had to wear were the TSSAA jackets in Tennessee. They were *navy*. That was 15 years ago.

Sold mine when I left Tennessee. But it was a much more durable jacket than this thing we wear now.

[JRutledge]

We wear them for almost every single varsity game I work and most officials that I know do the exact same. Of course there are places like in the city you might not see officials have them on during the pre-game, but that is very rare in my experience.

I also do not find them to be a waste considering I jackets I have were purchased years ago and I have not needed to replace it or do much to keep up maintenance. I wear them around 50-60 games, so they have long been worth its money.

Peace

[Adam]

They're essentially mandatory for all levels of high school.

[tref]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

They're essentially mandatory for all levels of high school.

Must be a 6 thing, we only have to wear them for varsity in 8.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by tref

Must be a 6 thing, we only have to wear them for varsity in 8.

Yep, definitely a local requirement. For some reason, I prefer it, but I could easily adjust either way.

[Eastshire]

I like the jacket because I can get cold during the warm up.

[bainsey]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

They're essentially mandatory for all levels of high school.

Same goes here. When I work a middle school game, my partner usually asks if I want to bother wearing the jacket. I do. If he insists on not wearing his, then I don't wear mine.

Still, if you want to be the part, you need to look the part.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by bainsey

Same goes here. When I work a middle school game, my partner usually asks if I want to bother wearing the jacket. I do. If he insists on not wearing his, then I don't wear mine.

Still, if you want to be the part, you need to look the part.

Most of the ms guys here don't have a jacket.

[jTheUmp]

I didn't even own a jacket until this year... but then again, I haven't worked any varsity games until this year either.

Everyone around here wears them for Varsity as far as I can tell.

I'm not terribly annoyed with it... it's relatively cheap ($45), and it should last for several years if I'm not wearing it outside of my officiating duties.