Settling down and winning

[Forksref]

We had a big game last night, two teams battling for first place. One team is up 7-0 in the second half. The losing team is being pushed down the field by a pretty strong running game. It was about 40 degrees with a driving rain. My pants were totally soaked by the second quarter. Miserable conditions but a good game. Anyway, the losing team on this drive starts to get chippy. We threw 2 consecutive PF flags on them and it didn't seem to stop the stupidity. The coach calls a TO and wants to talk to me (WH). He says I"m "killing them." I said coach, "your players are killing you." My point is, the direction of the energy of a frustrated team toward cheap shots and retaliation just adds to the problem. The team with the ball kicked a FG to go up 10-0. Somehow, the losing team in the 4th quarter got their heads on straight and came back to score 2 TD's on passes (Yes, my U did a great job keeping the ball dry.) They added a safety and won 14-10. When they settled down they directed their efforts toward making good plays and won the game. I wish coaches and players would realize how big a distraction and waste of energy it is to whine to the refs and get chippy. It takes away from reaching their goals.