Situational Officiating

[bainsey]

Originally Posted by Duffman

My HS coach once taught me that if the game was decided late by an officials decision it was my own damn fault for letting the game be that close to begin with.

He's partially correct.

Your coach's message is spot on, in that, if you score more points, a late call doesn't affect your goal of winning as much. A game is always decided by the totality of play -- 32 minutes (overtime notwithstanding).

A game is never decided by one call or one play. Everything that happened prior to a late call affects the outcome just as much as that call. Our brains can only take in so much, so naturally, everything gets magnified in the last few minutes. In reality, though, when a game is close, something you kicked in the first quarter could affect the outcome just as much as the end. The big difference is, few people will remember the beginning, and are far more likely to get caught up in the drama at the end.

[APG]

Originally Posted by bainsey

Our brains can only take in so much, so naturally, everything gets magnified in the last few minutes. In reality, though, when a game is close, something you kicked in the first quarter could affect the outcome just as much as the end. The big difference is, few people will remember the beginning, and are far more likely to get caught up in the drama at the end.

I'd say it's more that a team at the end doesn't have as much of a chance to recover from a mistake/missed called at the end of the games than at the beginning of the game.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by bainsey

... In reality, though, when a game is close, something you kicked in the first quarter could affect the outcome just as much as the end. The big difference is, few people will remember the beginning, and are far more likely to get caught up in the drama at the end.

In reality a call you kick in the last 2 minutes is going to affect future assignments far more than a call you kick in the 1st half.

You kick a call in the first half and your supervisor will likely chalk it off as a brain-fart or a temporary lapse in concentration. Kick a call in the last 2 minutes of a nail-biter then the supervisor may begin to question whether you can handle the pressure.

[Adam]

Yep, and the fact is, costing a team two points in the first quarter does not have the same effect as improperly waving off a buzzer beater.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

In reality a call you kick in the last 2 minutes is going to affect future assignments far more than a call you kick in the 1st half.

You kick a call in the first half and your supervisor will likely chalk it off as a brain-fart or a temporary lapse in concentration. Kick a call in the last 2 minutes of a nail-biter then the supervisor may begin to question whether you can handle the pressure.

Exactly right. Those that say "a foul in the first half is the same as a foul at the end" are absolutely correct -- but the corollary to this is that a mistake in the first half isn't going to be viewed the same as a mistake at the end of the game.

Perception is reality in many cases. One thing I noticed as the years go on is that we get to the end in a close game and I'm the calmest person in the house. That doesn't happen overnight.

[APG]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Exactly right. Those that say "a foul in the first half is the same as a foul at the end" are absolutely correct -- but the corollary to this is that a mistake in the first half isn't going to be viewed the same as a mistake at the end of the game.

Perception is reality in many cases. One thing I noticed as the years go on is that we get to the end in a close game and I'm the calmest person in the house. That doesn't happen overnight.

+1

Just ask the crew from that Big East tournament game about the last 20 seconds of their game (some questionable calls and the blatant missed OOB call) and if they would of rather had that occur at the end of the first half or at the end of the game...and ask the assignor if he cares more that it occurred at the end of the game or not.

[RookieDude]

Coming in late...

I don't know, I didn't see the contact...but, I say, shake your head up and down when the veteran is telling you something...she might have actually been correct. (maybe not philosophically, but about the contact)

Afterall...you did say you had to SELL it.

[ref3808]

Interesting use of the term "rivalry" here. A few games back (Boys JV) the HC, during a time out, asked me if I realized this was a "rivalry" game. I wondered what the coach expected to gain from telling me that. Did he expect that I would call the game differently for that reason? To my knowledge we work from one rule set regardless of the game circumstances.

[bob jenkins]

I think you need to be extra alert for sportsmanship issues during a rivalry game.