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HomeOpinionIt's a lot harder than it looks...

It’s a lot harder than it looks…

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Greg Pigott officiating a basketball game between Clarksville Academy and White House Heritage High School

It’s a lot harder than it looks…

I admit it, I used to be “that guy.” I was the guy in the stands screaming at the officials. “Are you blind?” “You are the worst ref I’ve ever seen!”  “How much are they paying you!?”

Of course, this ref was only the worst I’d ever seen until the next  person came along. These were all common phrases for me at every game I went  to … until I tried it. Boy, was I in for a big surprise; as I quickly found out, officiating is a lot harder than it looks.

I’ll be the first to admit it, I’ve missed calls, and I’ve been in games with other officials missing calls, and while “the best officials” up in the stands always wanna help out, believe me when I tell you — WE KNOW WHEN WE MISS IT.

It doesn’t matter how much you think you know about a sport or how good you think you are at playing it, until you put the stripes on and do it, you will have no idea how difficult is actually is. I have asked this question of several people, and while they are happy officiating from the stands, they always seem reluctant to put their “expertise” to practice.

It doesn’t matter how much you think you know about a sport or how good you think you are at playing it, until you put the stripes on and do it, you will have no idea how difficult is actually is. I have asked this question of several people, and while they are happy officiating from the stands, they always seem reluctant to put their “expertise” to practice.

I officiate three sports for TSSAA.  If I had time, I would do more. I love it that much. It is just impossible with overlapping seasons and my own work schedule to facilitate that. However, in my 7 + years of officiating football (both tackle and flag), soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball, and basketball. I have come up with several observations; let me share them with you.

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Greg Pigott officiating a football game between Clarksville High School and Kenwood High School

Most people have no idea how much we literally LOVE THE GAME. I love being around it — all of it. I love the smell of the grass, the warm-up music, getting to know coaches. I love the principals and athletic directors. Also, I love seeing some great young men and women across Middle Tennessee play the games which we all love. Sure, the money is decent….but sometimes it’s not enough for all the junk we take from people or how bad the game is. If I wanted a part time job, I would go work at a grocery store on the weekends. Sure, it’s great exercise. I lost around 20 pounds last basketball season just from running up and down the court, but I can get on a treadmill if all I cared about was my health. Yes, I have made some great connections through networking, but I can just as easily attend conferences and conventions through work to expand my business network. It takes a special person to officiate.

How many other times in your life are you able to be sole judge and jury? This responsibility itself makes officiating a difficult and challenging job. Ask yourself a question as a parent or a fan. How would you feel if someone was yelling at your child like some people holler at officials? Officials are treated like heartless robots sometimes. What about those men and ladies? Are they completely emotionless and expected to be talked down to? I have met several young men and women over the years that I think have talent to be pretty good officials. Some of them have gone on with my urging to become officials at some levels. Some, however have said “there is no way I could take everyone yelling at me all the time.” Funny how we hate so much what we do to other people.

When I think about unreal abuse to officials, I always think about the story of Kenny Wilcoxen, a highly decorated referee, who in the 1994, missed a critical call in the Illinois state semifinal football game. Not only was he humiliated on TV and by the school reporting him to the state, he was sent hate mail which said things like “you have no heart for children.” These remarks were so hard on Wilcoxen, who also worked as a PE teacher, that Wilcoxen attempted suicide. Now, while Wilcoxen survived and is back officiating, it makes you wonder if people really care about the people that work their butt off to call the game. It makes you wonder where the spirit of sportsmanship that is pushed so hard in this country has gone. Everyone wants to abuse refs, but most casual fans are not informed of the rules enough to even recognize a good or bad call when they see it.

There have been nights that I have missed big calls. There have been nights where I have had trouble sleeping because it hurt me that I hurt the game. There have been nights that I would give anything to have a do over to get a call right. That’s what the casual fan can never understand about an official. We not only love the game, we care about the game. The best officials may not get every call right, but the best officials put just as much effort into their performance as the players do.  You can never expect a player to play a perfect game, so it is completely unrealistic to expect an official to call a perfect game.

I have to say though, that one of my favorite things about officiating is being in a public place like church, the grocery store, an Austin Peay game, etc. Someone will recognize me from calling their kids game and come up and say “hey I saw you over at such and such school the other night. You really did a good job.” I’ve never been big about winning awards for being a ref, but comments like that really make me want to get back out there — even after a bad game. I always love to see the passion fans show towards the game, but you have to wonder sometimes if unwarranted abuse towards officials is good for the kids or good for the game. If I saw my parents talking to the officials like they were trash I don’t think I would really be too interested in pursuing refereeing one day. So, sports fans, next time you want to blast the men or ladies calling the game, will you put yourself in their shoes, or will it just be another case of “the worst refs you’ve ever seen”?

Greg Pigott
Greg Pigott
Greg Pigott is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and Louisiana State University graduate school. He currently serves as the Coordinator of Intramural Sports, Sport Clubs, and Junior Govs Summer Camp at Austin Peay State University. He also serves as a football, basketball, and baseball official for TSSAA.
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