I've been so pumped about the upcoming season and then, in the middle of the night, I thought........the officials. The officiating for the last three or four years has been so horrific that it has depressed me. Somebody talk me down from the 15th story ledge! We got screwed against Auburn. Phantom holding calls against Florida. And yes, we've had heinous calls in our favor at Tiger Stadium in the past! Why can't these bastards be held accountable ESPECIALLY since the latest NBA referee scandal? These guys need to be put in front of a press conference after games and asked questions! Coaches get asked questions. Players get asked questions. Commissioners of conferences get asked questions. BCS officials get asked questions. Athletic Directors get asked questions. Why do officials get protection? Of ALL people involved in football that should be put under the hot spotlight of coverage, the officials should be grilled RUTHLESSLY! If you can't handle it........CARRY YOUR ASS! Why are they protected and treated like royalty? WHY? Can anyone give one reasonable arguement why they shouldn't be held under intense scrutiny? I'll shut up now and await the forums learned responses.
Well, they can't make much of the inquiries overly public, as then people would see just how many inaccurate calls are made in most games. That would tend to undermine people's confidence in the system. And after the fact, there just isn't much that can be done, other than improve the officiating for future games. Having said that, their reluctance to discuss even the most awful calls tends to undercut that confidence even more, IMO. It's a miracle that there hasn't been a huge scandal with college sports in a while. I suspect there are plenty of Donaghys in the NCAA...and in the SEC.
I've always wondered the same thing. Why is it that pro athletes/coaches get fined as soon as they utter the slightest negative comments about officiating? Why?!?! Are they not to be held accountable for their jobs, which just happen to have an enormous amount of influence over the result of the games? Does it not stand to reason that they should be the ones under the most scrutiny? They've done the least to get there (with all due respect), but they possess the most control..yet they are beyond reproach? I seriously have never understood this, and I await (although likely in vain) a legitimate response.
I must admit that the NBA officiating scandal really got me thinking about that Auburn call last year. For the life of me I can not see how that was allowed to end up being called as it was. grrrr... ok, happy thoughts
i think largely because even in the nfl this isnt their full-time jobs. this is something to supplement their incomes like selling junk on ebay. not necessarily an afterthought but not their bread winner either. how on earth can either the ncaa and nfl (two multibillion dollar corporations) not hold themselves to a higher standard regarding officiating while doing so on every other level is baffling. instead of the nfl worrying about church raffles for the superbowl they may want to protect the very integrity of their sport which first begins with their officials. same goes for the ncaa. that dude who made about 100 bucks in the review booth for auburn last year could be bought for a grand. not that something like that happened, mind you.
