Super Bowl Referee
 

Mike Carey will become the first Black to referee a Super Bowl.

Good for him.

He's a good official.

Is it really a big deal? I mean imho everything from NY's week 17 nearmiracle against NE to NE "miraculous" season to spygate, to which team the alternate referree's cat picks will be scrutinized in the media over the next 2 weeks, as I'm sure if and when this becomes public media knowledge it probably will as well. But should it? I mean aren't the official's invisible, and shouldn't they be? Shouldn't the "color" of their shirt say something about their "color." I had the privilege of meeting Mike Carey in the locker room at the RCA DOme in Indy a few years ago, great guy, I honestly think if (and when) people make a big deal out of this it will be a sad day. Its about the New York Giants trying to slay Goliath (puns abounding). Its about Eli Manning following in his brother's footsteps, its about Tom Brady being on the cover of SI, it is not about the officials and definately not their color.

My rant, endeth here.

R- Mike Carey (1st SB)
U- Tony Michalek (1st SB)
HL- Gary Slaughter (2nd - XXXIX)
LJ- Carl Johnson (1st SB)
BJ- Scott Helverson (1st SB)
FJ- Boris Cheek (1st SB)
SJ- Larry Rose (1st SB)

Alternates: Walt Coleman, Dan Ferrel, Ed Camp, Carl Cheffers, Greg Steed

And yet...this forum is about officiating.

Minor plot point to the Super Bowl.

Interesting side note here.

And the identity of the Super Bowl referee is something people here like to talk about. The fact that he's African-American, while somewhat noteworthy, is less so than when Doug Williams broke that particular barrier for quarterbacks 20 years ago. Luckily.

But it's still appropriate here. Though I do see your point in a general sense.

I tend to think each of us on this forum are serious about their officiating and if we have children we will encourage thenm to take it up.

Well, what if you are not of the majority race of this country. You might well not aspire to that position because the thought is you can never make it to the top because you do not see any examples. You have to realize that is the story of Gene Washington QB at Stanford who switched to wide receiver to make it in the NFL. Or, look at the long road of Tony Dungy an outstanding QB at Minnesota who did not get drafted. Doug Williams, Burl Toler, Jackie Robinson, Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith all became examples of achievement in spite of the odds.

Often before these folks there was that adage of intelligence or lack of and their ascending proves it wrong.

All I've heard Mike Carey is an excellent referee who takes the game seriously. He is an excellent example of achievement and worth every bit of ink or pixel expended to mark this achievement. Maybe, just maybe, some youngster out there will see Mike Carey and dream a dream of being there someday.

Luckily the officials do not attend media day so we will be spared of some ignoramus question like “how long have you been a black referee?”

As I stated on the other topic, I think he has some of the best signals and verbal communication in the game.

It was a simple statement of a fact.
You made it into something far much bigger.

Being that this is MLK Day, I think it is appropriate to note that Mike Carey has made it to the top. It's the SECOND black to do the game that will cause us to not make a big deal.

As for the names mentioned above, don't forget Emmett Ashford and Larry Doby, 2 of my favorites.

Way to go Mike and have a great game!

The Doug Williams story is apocryphal.

This has to be the post of the week for me. :D

Peace

I want all to know, I do appreciate Mike Carey's accomplishment, and I recognize that this forum is of officials, for officials and by officials. My post was simply as I stated a rant regarding an inappropriate shift of emphasis.

I worked a basketball game a few years ago with a gentleman who was also to sing the national anthem before the game, and while he was a very talented vocalist, I just like to keep the attention off the officials and everything about them, from voice to color.

I believe the best officials in the business do not have names, and do their entire job without anyone knowing they were there.

That is all I am saying.

That sounds great but those days are over. From the internet, to TV to fellow officials, the days of the anonymous official are over. First of all people can recognize officials. And with all these TV stations covering every game imaginable, even if you wanted to keep officials in the background, people will know who they are. You are going to tell me people are not going to recognize Dick Beavetta in the NBA? Or and Ed Hoculli in the NFL? Or at Joe West in the Majors? Or an Ed Hightower and Lisa Mattingly at the D1 Basketball levels? It is not going to happen. I have even been recognized when I work local games and I did not say a word. There is too much media, video tape and internet sites dedicated to knowing who worked where and when. I heard this information about Carey on the radio while driving to a game. Maybe that was a good thing years ago, but knowing who the people are adds credibility to the contest if you ask me. People know who has worked big games in the past and they know who can handle them in the future. You are not going to get that Genie back in the bottle again. It is just not going to happen. We definitely talk about it here. What do you think the fans talk about when they see certain officials?

Who? If you are referring to Carey, you are obviously joking.

I do not think he is joking, and I agree that R 94 Carey has among the best signals in the NFL.

Right now, I think there are *many* strong Referees in the NFL. To be selected among them is quite an accomplishment. I think that in the future, R 85 Hochuli will replace Pereira.

I also think that R ?? Steratore will be among the top NFL Referees ever. Parry and Boger are showing that they'll have fantastic careers as well. With R 77 McAulay and R 42 Triplette and R 99 Corrente, imho, the officiating in the NFL will be superb in the years to come.