Why do officials...

[Sapper33]

Wear the black jackets before games? I've asked this question to everyone I've worked with this year and noone has an answer. I asked my Area Supervisor and he didn't know. I'm just curious...

[bainsey]

Because black is slimming.

[letemplay]

It's after Labor Day

[RookieDude]

...tradition.

Everybody else is jumping off the Empire State Building...so why not?

[tref]

*ouch*

[ref2coach]

Originally Posted by Sapper33

Wear the black jackets before games? I've asked this question to everyone I've worked with this year and noone has an answer. I asked my Area Supervisor and he didn't know. I'm just curious...

Allows equipment suppliers an additional profit item to sell. Especially since it can be changed on the whim of a state or local supervisor who has a buddy that owns the "approved" official supply company.

[mbyron]

Conceals the stripes, so they don't see us coming. Think of it as camo for officials.

[Rich]

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.

[Bad Zebra]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

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

+1.

Just another item that needs to be:
1. Purchased
2. Cared for.
3. Carried in an already overloaded bag.
4. ...and attended to after brief use (retireve, fold, launder, repeat)

Another one of those things we do without any discernable good reason. I used to think it was for the benefit of northern officials in a drafty gym, but I don't even think that's the case.

[whistleone]

It's commonplace for officials in our area to have a stamp with our name and state officiating ID number. Without the jacket, we'd have nowhere to put our stamp. Ah crap, our jackets are the official's version of a purse.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Bad Zebra

+1.

Just another item that needs to be:
1. Purchased
2. Cared for.
3. Carried in an already overloaded bag.
4. ...and attended to after brief use (retireve, fold, launder, repeat)

Another one of those things we do without any discernable good reason. I used to think it was for the benefit of northern officials in a drafty gym, but I don't even think that's the case.

I store the jacket inside out. When I take it off, I turn it inside out and zip it up -- it keeps dust from accumulating on the outside of the jacket. I *never* wash my officiating jacket since I only wear it pregame.

I do carry my needle in the pocket and when I'm the R probably use it 90% of the time, so maybe we do need it.

[26 Year Gap]

Originally Posted by Bad Zebra

+1.

Just another item that needs to be:
1. Purchased
2. Cared for.
3. Carried in an already overloaded bag.
4. ...and attended to after brief use (retireve, fold, launder, repeat)

Another one of those things we do without any discernable good reason. I used to think it was for the benefit of northern officials in a drafty gym, but I don't even think that's the case.

We have a number of crew chiefs who hate them, so they stay in the bag.

[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

[mj]

Originally Posted by mbyron

Conceals the stripes, so they don't see us coming. Think of it as camo for officials.

Yeah I've heard this one before too. So when we are watching teams warmup, no one knows who the adults are in the black jackets?

I think it's someone silly too but whatever.