How should fans be graded
Published 1:39 am Friday, January 10, 2020
I guess I must be getting older or something because having attended a ton of different sporting events ranging from baseball to volleyball, I am seeing something that is starting to really bother me about these games and its not so much the athletes as it is the spectators in the stands.
I know I have probably touched on this a time or two in the past but since its a new year, I thought that maybe a quick revisit would be well worth the time especially with the number of games that I have had the privilege to cover since the basketball season started.
Now, the first thing that I have noticed is with the shortage of referees to call these games, the stands seem to be full every time I enter a gymnasium.
It is actually becoming quite amusing for me as I am taking photos listening to both sides making calls going on in the contest as one game I was recently at one team’s fans were calling a foul every time down the floor and the other fans were calling for traveling.
Meanwhile, the referees seemed to be oblivious to any of the calls as many times there were just no calls at all made. But the game continued on.
I remember myself a few years back that I fitted into these groups well myself as my own son and daughter participated and I could make the calls with the best of them and I found that often what I said from the stands was being absorbed by my kids and the frustration soon set in on them as well.
Now, I find myself realizing that the best thing that I could have done was just been there and kept my mouth shut and clapped when a basket was made or a base hit was rapped out and then gave my kids a high five after the game for a job well done.
I understand now that my loud and boisterous hurls at the referees and officials weren’t providing any additional support for my kids but just making excuses for mistakes that are intended to help kids get better.
Why I don’t even know why a man or a woman would even consider stepping on a court or field of play to call a game. It’s under-appreciated and whatever you call will never be right with one side or the other.
It wouldn’t matter if one tried to call a perfect game, someone would find something wrong with what they did.
I was sitting at a table the other night beside a gentleman that was grading the referees and their work.
I must admit that he had a pretty hefty list of notes from calls that were made or not made but when the rubber meets the highway, if a referee will just be consistent in what they call and make it go both ways, that is all that can be asked – it’s called fairness.
But back to my original thought process. Have you ever asked yourself if stand refereeing is actually helping or hurting your student-athlete?
I have actually observed players in tears on the bench when their parents are, to be blunt, making a scene from the stands. I was at a game the other night and I’m just being totally honest, if I was playing and my parent made such a scene as the one I witnessed, I would have probably covered my head with a towel and exited the gym.
That’s how bad it gets at times.
But here’s the real problem – how do you teach your kids to show respect when we can’t even do it ourselves from the stands of a game – just a plain game?
Now, before you have a conniption fit, I have been here so I am no different, but I have learned and I hope that what I have learned will help me as my grandkids grow up and I attend their games as a grandparent.
There is enough pressure on a kid at school and even at home that when these kids represent their school or community they should know that everyone present is there for one thing and that is to encourage them by cheering when they hit a bucket or make a great steal and not throwing a tantrum because a human official misses a call.
Now, referees reading this, I am not just trying to cover your backs on this but I am calling for each of you to realize that each time you step on the court or field if you cannot give your best to the kids playing the game, then you don’t deserve to be on the same field or drawing a paycheck.
As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t be the center of attention – it should be the athletes. If you feel that everyone should be looking at you, then you are missing the point completely.
You should be invisible and only be seen when a rule needs to be enforced and that is it. It’s not about impressing that man at the table grading you to move you up the chain – it’s about calling the game accurately and by the rules and if you don’t know the rules you shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Just a comical side point in wrapping up this chatter to break all the tension I just created and here it is.
It amazes me that some of the same ones that are jumping up and down in the stands at a ballgame are the same ones that sit on their hands during Sunday morning services that a preacher cannot even draw an Amen from. Now you know that’s the truth!
I guess that’s really the reason so many preachers use us sports fans for sermon topics.
Anyway, I just want to encourage my readers to remember what these games are truly about. Our young people need role models that they can look up to and many times that starts in the stands of ballgames.
I would much rather my grandkids tell their children if I am still alive when that time comes that, “You should have been there to see how your granddad loved on me after my games,” than telling them, “Boy your grandpa sure showed himself during my games and embarrassed the fire out of me”.
Think about it – what would you rather have said when your children are parents themselves?
Just a thought!
