My, my. Now, was that nice?
Football fans gathered in the Cleveland stadium a couple of weeks
ago to watch their beloved Cleveland Browns battle the Jacksonville Jaguars.
(Dont you love the war terminology and analogies we use to describe football?)
My, my. Now, was that nice?
Football fans gathered in the Cleveland stadium a couple of weeks
ago to watch their beloved Cleveland Browns battle the Jacksonville Jaguars.
(Dont you love the war terminology and analogies we use to describe football?)
Cleveland fans did not like the referees decision, which is not at all
unusual for sports fans. What fans do like the referees decision when
it goes against their team?
But the Cleveland fans went beyond not liking the call. They obviously had
their fan training at Little League games. The irate fans showed their displeasure
not by throwing their voices but by throwing just about anything physical that
was small and/or large enough to be hurled from their rented seats to the playing
field.
It seems a little more than ironic that most of the missiles primarily were
previously used to hold beer. Glass drink bottles have been outlawed at most
major sporting events for years because from time to time fans discovered they
are just right for throwing at other fans, referees, players or anyone else
with whom the person holding the beer bottle developed displeasure. And as we
all know from watching movies, a beer bottle neck with the body smashed off
to leave a jagged edge becomes a menacing weapon.
Not wanting to deprive fans of beer for even the two or three hours they are
in the stands and not wanting to deprive themselves of the income, team owners
had the drink companies switch to plastic bottles. True, plastic bottles do
not shatter or cut. But filled with beer and thrown with the force generated
by an angry fan, they can inflict significant damage to human targets.
It could be called guilt by association, but circumstantial evidence would
imply that beer drinkers are the ones most likely to get physical when expressing
their displeasure.
Anyway …
A video replay caused the game-ending episode. A play with a questionable referees
decision, another play and a challenge of the referees decision on the
previous play resulted in a decision against the Browns and ensured displays
of anger via flying missiles, loud calls, ugly faces, etc., etc., etc.
Look, lets do away with video plays during football games. Let the game
be like real life – go with what you get. Things balance out, and you do
not have the down time that allows emotions and expectations to build.
Can you imagine how things would be if video replays were part of real life?
National Football League officials do not review what actually happened; they
review their judgment and decision about what happened. The replays let them
check to see if their decisions about what happened were right.
Can you imagine permitting a video review of all the decisions we make in a
day and then allowing the possibility of changing those decisions? Sometimes,
that might be good and sometimes not good. Either way, we would never get on
with life. We would have our heads stuck in those viewing contraptions so much
we wouldnt be able to get anything else done. But regardless of how hard
we may try, we can never change the fact that we made the first decision.
Decisions are the tough, agonizing stuff of life, not just for NFL referees
but for everyone. What actually has happened to bring us to the point of decision
usually is not the question. The question is, “What is our judgment about
what happened, and what is our decision on what we should do about it?”
In real life, we can make one certain decision that makes all the others somewhat
easier. “Chose today whom you will serve.” Or, “Chose whom you
will serve today.” If we decide that early each morning, most other decisions
fall in line. That is also true for the year.
“Chose whom you will serve during 2002.”
In the meantime, whats the big deal about every decision a referee makes?
Isnt football just a game?