I'm sure the many refs out there have seen some stupid things during their time, but tonight I saw the dumbest thing I have ever seen in the 4 years of officiating flag football here at the University I goto.

I was referee tonight for a game between two frats. There is an illegal motion on the offense and my line judge throws a flag and continues to officiate. When the play ends he blows his wistles and comes over to tell me the penalty he has. I meet him about 3 yds from the side line and as he begins to tell me his penalty a fan steps off the sideline (we allow spectators to be on the teams sideline, provided they behave themselves) and looks down at the flag and goes "I wonder what it would be like to throw one of these." I begin shaking my head to indicate that he should not do that and halfway in disbelief that anyone would do something that stupid. However, he picks up my back judge's flag and throws it straight in the air. So I reach and throw my flag into the air. I charge the team captain with the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and we continue the game.

The rest of the team kept telling him to just go home, because if they got another UC penalty they would be out of the playoffs (they need a certain sportsmanship rating in order to move along, if they win).

Just thought I'd share. I welcome any other stories you guys might have out there.

I've had players come up to me and hand me my flag for a spot foul, thinking they were helping me. Oops!

bean bags
 

It Seems that my bean bag amazes players all the time. They stand in awe and questionable dumbfoundness over this white bean bag that has invaded the playing area.
"Sir, you dropped this!"
"thanks"

Good Old IM Flag football, welcome to the club!

Re: bean bags
 

The last year that I was a playing before becoming an official - so after 10 years of on field experience was the first time I noticed a bean bag.
Ok, the first couple of years was in Canada where they basically don't use them, and I was mostly a lineman and didn't see much more than the guys in front of me but...
In this instance I was playing LB (fairly new to the position), and near the sideline I saw a white bean-bag. Of course I thought it was a bit of tape someone had thrown away, and gave it a good kick to get it off the field... The ref was NOT impressed!

Now as a ref myself I've also had youth players try to give me my flag back as Im walking up to report the foul to the WH. Always surprises me!

James

Play last night in an IM flag football game:

QB takes snap, finds no one, starts to scramble, crosses NZ, pitches it forward. I drop my flag (I'm R), play continues. A pitches the ball at least 2 or 3 more times. One kid finally breaks into the open, but thinks a teammate's flag was pulled before he pitched him the ball (it was not, and no whistle had sounded; ball is still live). His teammates yell at him to go ahead and score......instead, he heaves the ball 30 yards back toward his own goal line, and it is intercepted by B and returned for a touchdown.

That ended up being the last play of the game because A was so in disbelief at what just happened, the whole team started cussing me, so I threw 'em all out and declared a forfeit (the score was already something like 34-12 anyway).

Most ridiculous play I've ever seen.

My favorite part of flag is when you have a long run and a flag on the play. While you are talking about the penalty, a player who is trying to help, brings you the pucks from the previous spot. Welcome to the world of guessing.

I know where BigWes68 is from, where are the rest of you flag football officials from? I run the IM program at Purdue. Just curious.

Re: bean bags
 

I have similar stuff happen wihen I have to throw my hat for the end of the run spot or when a second penalty occurs. Someone always seems to want to pick it up and hand it back to me. I'm at North Carolina State University, 4 years flag football, 4 years basketball.

CaptStevenM,

Tell David Parker that Sam Axley said hi. I know you had to learn to officiate on your own, Dave didn't teach you much. Just kidding. I know most of the staff at NC State well.

Are you going to any tournaments this year? There's one in Wilmington I think.

Nice to meet you.

We just had the state championship in Charlotte this past weekend. I went to Wilmington last year. I didn't get any bids at Charlotte but hopefully I can still goto Wilmington as an offical from State.

In your mechanics you don't have someone who is suppose to protect the falg when a penalty is called?

Snake eyes...flag football is usually done with 3 officials, sometimes 4 and on a bad night, 2. Officials are taught to cover the flag if possible. What I am talking about is the colored pucks we use to designate the line of scrimmage and neutral zone. We use an oragne disk or puck to desigante the line of scrimmage and a yellow disk one yard away to create the neutral zone. Players think they are helping by picking them up for you.

OHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhh, flag football. I thought you typed puck instead of flag on accident! lol. My apologies, never have done flag football and never heard of pucks either.

I do flag at Georgia Southern University. Luckily, we run four man crews most nights and have someone to cover the flag--thus we don't get paid nearly as much as other IM Flag officials get.

Hopefully you guys will be at Nationals and I'll be there with you. :) I just got back from Swamp Bowl in Gainesville, Florida. Quite a great officials staff there--at least five officials that officiated in New Orleans walked away this year without a bid--myself included. I will be going to the TIRSA Shootout this weekend, but I'm not holding my breath--four officials from Ohio State and we all know those guys normally do a hell of a job. All I have left besides TIRSA is the state tourney down here (second largest tournament in the country behind nationals). Hopefully I'll get one--it'd suck to get one in 03, but not get one in 04.

Was FJ during the women's final this weekend and threw a flag guard during a punt return. BJ covered (4 man) and I told my WH to bring the pucks with him. Told him flag guard, during the return, and as we started walking towards the spot of the foul my BJ turned and threw us the flag. We all got a good chuckle.

Hope you guys have a good season! We're just starting playoffs down here in gnat land!

[Edited by SouthGARef on Oct 27th, 2004 at 04:36 PM]

You know where I'm from?

Thought I did BigWes68....maybe not. So, where are you from?