What is the dumbest thing you did this past season?

[daggo66]

I'll start off with one that I would imagine being hard to top. I was the R in a state semi-final game. I'm conducting the coin toss and the home team wins and elects to defer. I immediately signal their choice. I then inform the visiting team of their remaining choices and they elect to receive. I then asked the home team captain which goal he would like to defend. He pointed and told me that he wanted to "defend this way." What he meant was that he wanted to kick that way. After a few seconds of discussion I determined which direction he really wanted. It was those few precious seconds that did me in. I lined the captains up and promptly signaled that the HOME team would be receiving! My U quickly reminded me of what happended. Not being able to find a hole large enough to hide in, my only recourse was to quickly inform the 2 head coaches what had just happened. The crew came together before the teams came out for the kickoff and I told them not to worry. Now that I was the one to get our one screw up for the night out of the way they could relax and work a perfect game. After the game in the locker room our clock operator (and fellow crew chief) looked at me and said, "What the hell was that?" I explained how I forgot what happened in just a few seconds. He told me that the state observer asked him what I was doing. He looked at him and said, "Don't worry, he's new."

[jaybird]

Read about the A-11!

[BktBallRef]

DAMN! Beat me to it, jaybird!

[RoyGardner]

I'm the U in a Thanksgiving Day game with several thousand fans watching. Home team snaps from shotgun w/empty backfield from the 50 yard line and the QB immediately retreats while looking for a receiver. I head toward the LOS and catch the WR on my left crossing shallow planning to use me as a pick. I stop letting him and the defender cross safely in front of me just as the QB throws downfield on my left, while I get crushed by the TE who's crossing from my right.

He picks me right up off of the ground and I land a$$ first, whack the back of my head and am in la-la land for a second or two. I jump up, look downfield and see the HL with the ball just in from the sideline at the 3 yard line. So I dutifully hustle downfield to the hash in front of where the HL is standing, get the ball and spot it (I'm assuming 1st & goal from the 3).

Nobody says a word as I'm standing over the ball when I notice/realize the kicker is in and setting up a block for a try, just as he turns toward me and asks to have the ball spotted in the "middle of the field". The play had gone for a TD and no other crew member had told me, or maybe I was just so out of it I didn't hear anyone.

Don't remember the following kick-off, and a few plays latter at halftime in the locker room I got the what the hell happened out there?

[Texas Aggie]

Hard to call that dumb on your part, Roy. I'm a little irritated none of your co-officials saw you hit the ground. Or, if they did, why they didn't check to make sure you were OK and clear on what's going on. That's what I would have done, "hey, man, you OK? They scored a TD if you missed it; get ready for the try."

[jaybird]

"hey, man, you OK? They scored a TD if you missed it; get ready for the try."

Or better yet, "man, what are you doing on the ground, looking for that Snickers?"

Just teasing Roy. Hope everything is OK.