Situational Officiating

[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.