Guest Posts on County 10 are provided by contributors and the opinions, thoughts, and comments within are their own and may not necessarily reflect those of County 10.
Last Friday’s home opener for the Dubois Rams came at a strange time. High school football is, or rather was, a game played at 1 or 2 p.m. for schools without stadium lights, and 7 p.m. for those with them for generations.
Dubois and Meeteetse kicked off at 11:30 am. The kids at the nearby K-12 school were on their way to lunch when the Longhorns and Rams tangled a few hundred yards to the east.
The Worland crew officiating the game bantered with me as the score seesawed back and forth in the second half.
I made my standard joke that overtime is indicative of poor officiating, and they laughed, but it was the nervous variety.
They were scheduled to work the Kelly Walsh / Cheyenne South game at 6 pm that same day 200 miles away in Natrona County. Do the math and that’s 500 miles of windshield time for the guys from Washakie County on a Friday.
The game ended just after 2, and the Worland crew wasted no time in hustling to the parking lot and off to the next game.
Last Friday was one of those rare days for me when the stars, or at least the kickoffs, are in alignment.
After the Rams contest I visited a friend on Union Pass then beelined it to Ethete for a 4 pm kickoff between the Chiefs and the Big Piney Punchers.
The Riverton crew worked that game. It’s always fun to watch friends officiate or coach, and to talk a bit with them during timeouts and period breaks.
They were under a time crunch as well. Tyler Watson and Keith Gantenbein had the same situation as the 307 crew out of Worland. They had to be in Riverton by 7 pm for the Wolverines home opener with the Evanston Red Devils.
The Riverton game was originally scheduled for 6 pm so Evanston could avoid the midnight deadline which requires two drivers on road trips. It’s a haul to Uinta County, Evanston is just four miles from Utah and a long way from Rivercity.
The game was moved to 7 so the two officials working the game at Wyoming Indian could fill out the crew in Riverton.
This Thursday, Wyoming Indian travels to Shoshoni for a 5:30 kickoff.
Friday Night Lights might still be alive and well in Texas, but the official shortage is so severe that games are now played from Thursday afternoon until Saturday night.
There are many reasons for the shortage, but money isn’t one of them. These guys don’t make a lot of cash working the local high school games, and even less at the freshman, JV and junior high level. They do it because they enjoy it.
But that enjoyment is fading in the face of idiotic fan behavior and constant second guessing by parents. A few school administrators have crossed the line and challenged an official’s call, but thankfully, school boards and superintendents take care of that aberrant behavior.
It’s difficult to find someone to take time off from work, drive a few hundred miles on a Friday afternoon or evening, and then do it again on Saturday. They leave the comfort of home, sacrifice time with their families and what do they get? They get blamed, cajoled, screamed at and threatened by out-of-control fans.
It’s a ludicrous situation, but one that permeates youth, prep and collegiate sports nationwide.
One memorable night my friend Chico Her Many Horses was announcing a Wyoming Indian home guy. Chico is always engaging but he offered up this little gem that had the crowd, and the officials rolling with laughter.
As the officials walked off the field at halftime, Chico spoke over the stadium PA system.
“You guys did a good job this half. Keep it up and we’ll tell you where the coil wire is for your truck at the end of the third quarter.”
Funny, with a hint of sarcasm but wrapped in respect for the job the crew had done.
Officiating isn’t easy. Coaching isn’t either, but the experts in the stands know better. These experts never miss a call, never call a wrong play, and always know their son or daughter is the one who could take the team to a state title, if only that prejudiced coach would put them in.
The modern snowplow parenting style has created an officials shortage, as well as a lack of coaches to run programs.
These clowns don’t realize that the only ones they’re hurting with their inane behavior are their children. Yet, they don’t care. They’re entitled, belligerent, and have rights.
As Dirty Harry once said when he was confronted about violating the rights of a violent criminal, “I’m all broke up about that man’s rights.”
We need to take that approach, to up the game if you will.
If a parent assaults an official, either physically or verbally, their child is immediately off the team. That expulsion should last an entire year.
It’s a draconian approach, but its time has arrived.
If something isn’t done, it will be the end of prep athletics. Without officials there can’t be games.
Some have suggested that overzealous parents be forced to put on the stripes and call a game.
That won’t work. These screaming maniacs don’t know the game and lack the integrity to call a game fairly even if they did.
Officiating is hard, it’s a job that requires split-second decision-making in a loud, boisterous atmosphere, often in front of thousands of people.
Officials must pass certification exams, discuss scenarios at officiating meetings and face peer review on crucial calls on the way back home.
The good ones work to perfect their calling, and there are very few that I wouldn’t call good officials.
Until something happens, we’ll count on fewer and fewer officials to do more and more. Eventually, it will pass the equilibrium point and games will be canceled.
The lower-level programs will be eliminated, followed by varsity programs, and then entire conferences will disappear.
The message is clear. Lay off the officials. None of them get up in the morning and think, “What kid can I cheat today?”
It’s just the opposite, they look forward to the game, the challenge, and the trip with friends to help the kids, and work in a sport they love.
They’re giving back, maybe you should too.