Soccer makes me crazy

[DadofTwins]

Originally Posted by Welpe

What do you mean by "hyper officiating"?

"Hyper-officiated" sports are those in which the participants and spectators expect some kind of official intervention whenever any rule or custom or protocol is violated, no matter how trifling or irrelevant to the outcome of the play or the game.

Football is the most notorious example. If an offensive player's alignment is off by a few inches either way at the snap, then no matter what else happens the play is coming back with a 5-yard penalty. Defenders initiating contact 5 1/2 yards from scrimmage are penalized, but 4 1/2 yards away is fine. And don't get me started on pass interference.

No wonder it takes a crew the size of the Supreme Court to get all the calls right. There are just too many calls to make.

Basketball is almost as bad, though referees tend to get a bit more leeway there. I read on the forums that referees have to worry about things like uniform colors, where people stand for free throws, and what time the score book gets filled out.

Come on, people.

At least in basketball there is some discretion over whether something is or isn't a foul. As I understand it, to be a foul the contact has to give the person who initiated it an advantage. That rule, by the way, came from soccer. As did the rule about not stopping the clock every time somebody scores.

You're welcome.