Rivalry games

[ski]

Stands are packed, The atmosphere is jacked up. The game is moving along well and then you can feel it intensify. You kinda feel it’s a coming.....Then Rupert and Karen start heckling from the stands. Players get more physical and start fouling, yellow card(s) come out. Heckling, intensity, fast action, chippy play- the clock is ticking. The inevitable happens- player goes down in the box and the entire complex erupts......

A ref has to know walking into a high profile/rivalry game that the above scenario is action potential. Do y’all thrive on that stuff or try to get out of it?

[time2retire]

You never get better if you always take the easy ones, you don't find your limit if you never push your boundaries.

The game is played with heart and passion, that elevates emotion when the clock is ticking - I really don't expect anything less from someone who truly loves the game. And sometimes that does make people crazy in the moment. Players and coaches and fans are gonna see things their way that benefits them, that's natural and expected.

A good majority of referees make the same decisions, crowd screaming or not. There's nothing that anyone can say during those 80 minutes that's gonna change what I'm having for dinner or how many redfish I'm pulling out the water on Sunday.

Any game can be a quiet one. Any game can be a dumpster fire. And you have to prepare for whatever gets thrown at you at any moment during those 80 minutes. First impressions, first foul, first card, passback situations, mass confrontation situtations, managing subs, managing the bench. Mental preparation, pregame music or meditation. Due diligence on team records, key players, even ones who have already been sent off earlier in the year. Maybe the teams played once already, contacting the previous referee to see how the team goes. And a lot more than that in certain other games.

But when the whistle blows and we've finished 80 minutes, leave it between the lines. Decompress. Reflect on the game, things that went good, things that need improvement.

Then catch a limit of reds.

[time2retire]

So while we're on this topic, from the RCO (assignor) angle, we have to carefully select the best choice for the game. Remember that we can only select from the pool of available referees, so we already whittle the numbers there. Our best might have family commitments or at another event, so they might not be available. And there could be cases where certain coaches scratch the best referees available, or certain referees won't go to certain schools. Plenty of things to consider before you see Johnny Whistle on the field.

[ski]

That’s a great answer. Thanks for your input.

[happyjack]

I went to a game earlier this year, coach hell’s me “this is team rank x and team ranked y and it’s going to be a burner.”

I just said “none of that matters, I go in to every game expecting a burner”.

Only time I’ve ever been concerned with heckling from stands if it was profane and target a specific player. Then coach or school rep and I have a conversation and we restart the match after it’s addressed. In a gajillion years of doing matches, I’ve only had one coach object to saying something to the fans, saying it’s part of the game. Knowing his child played, I asked if I went to a game and used profanity specifically targeting his child would he think it was still okay. He quickly addressed the situation.