How do you shake it off?

[mick]

Originally posted by Coach12
I have always wondered how the umpires manage to go day after day being seen as the bad guy so often. How do you grow that thick skin?

Coach12,
Is it thick skin, or confidence?

I think confidence plays a big role in going onto the field.
I figger I get hollered at for one of two reasons.[*] 1. I made the sheets brown.[*] 2. The complainer is ignorant.

For #1, I fix it and deserved the pain.
For #2, I gave up dealing with ignorant people a long time ago. No one can deal with ignorance. Not a problem.

One thing, I have noted over my years of observing shouting matches, is that the louder an umpire yells, the more defensive and the more unsure that umpire is.

mick