The Reffing Controversies

While watching Around The Horn (another of my favourite sports shows) this week, I heard an interesting report. During a Southeastern Conference (SEC) football game between Flordia and Mississippi State, a Florida player intercepted a pass by the Ole Miss quarterback. Just as he was about to head into the end zone, he put the ball out where it was batted away by Ole Miss wide receiver Brandon McRae. After multiple reviews (and an assist from the ESPN split screen for those armchair quarterbacks), the play stood as a touchdown. Why the controversy? From the replay that was shown, it appeared that the ball was knocked out before it crossed the goal line. It's been widely speculated that the call changed the outcome of the game. The question is: Can referees change the outcome of games?

If you want a quick answer to that one, all you have to do is look at Tim Donaghy as Exhibit A. In case you don't remember him, he's the NBA referee that was sentenced to 15 months in prison for betting on NBA games that he reffed. He would change the outcome of the game by calling a foul when it shouldn't have been called and so on.

Which brings me to my final question. Are referees put under too much of a microscope? In my opinion...they are. If you see Joe Schmo on the street walking by, you don't pay much attention to him (unless you know Joe Schmo). But stick a uniform on him and put him on the field, diamond or ice and Joe Schmo becomes fair game. The moment he steps into those stripes, he's got a target on his back. Need anger management therapy but can't afford to attend any sessions? Do what society does. Go to a local arena, football field or ballpark and yell to your hearts content at some poor, hapless referee.

My final thought is to leave refs be (unless they pull a Tim Donaghy and engage in criminal activity). Yes, they do make some bad calls and miss the odd penalty here and there but they're just people like you and me. I swear sometimes that people expect referees to have some kind of super sight that we have not been blessed with. They have to be able to make the right call within a microsecond of any and all violations.

Since Halloween is on Saturday, I thought it would be appropiate to leave you with a cool Halloween themed video.

Happy Halloween!