Welcome to Football Officiating Moment

[McMac]

I'm a first year football offical, but have been doing basketball for 7 years. I have worked 4 scrimmages so far and have had my welcome to football moment tonight.

Working a scrimmage in which they played a full game, kicks and all, I am working as LM, kick return coming towards me. I move to avoid the runner and tackler going out of bounds, but move right into the way of another defender who took me straight to the ground. Get up quickly, mark the spot, and move on to the next play.

What was your welcome to football moment?

[Robert Goodman]

That couldn't've been better if it'd been planned.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

That couldn't've been better if it'd been planned.

Aw, now you've taken out what made my reply funny. You had to be there.

[ref5678]

Mine was last week of the season my second season, televised game and I was working the chains. It was pouring down rain and the field was a mudy mess. As im trailing the play a defender gets blocked in the back falls out of bounds right in to my path i try to stop with out success flip end over end, stand up drop my flag for the illegal block then go and mark the spot. I was covered in mud from head to toe, thank goodness it was late in the fourth quarter. TV camera caught it all, and even got its own spot on the 10 oclock news.

[umpirebob71]

About 13-14 years ago, I was working the middle in a JV game. I see an infraction, and toss the flag. My white hat comes up and asks what I have, and my mind went completely blank. He asks again, and sees the "deer in the headlights" look on my face. Everybody in the house wants to know what I have, and so did I at the moment. My WH just said "Just relax for a minute, and think about what you saw." He was so calm about it, I calmed down, and remembered it was holding on the center. He said "See, that was easy once you relaxed for a few seconds." The penalty was accepted, I marked it off, and he never said another thing about it. I was very lucky that day to have a fellow official that was so understanding with new officials, very lucky.