I have been listening to way too much sports talk radio, and on TBT, it made me think of one of my favorite things I have ever been involved with, Sports Babble!
In honor of that, I want to do a short spot sort of like we would do towards the end of each episode..
I will go ahead and take the heat for something and get it out of the way. I have watched a lot of football this season and listened to a lot of sports radio shows, and I have come to a few realizations:
1) I will get the big one out of the way first. There have been some bad gaffes this season by the officials, but I have seen nothing that makes me think it is any worse than any other season. Go ahead, throw out any examples you want to prove me wrong, but expect me to pull out some gems from past seasons. The fact it looks worse is due to several factors..
The biggest factor is the technology that is used in broadcasting the games. People get to see things from so many angles and at different speeds and they think that the refs should see it the same way. It doesn't work that way, and even if it did, there is still the problem of personal interpretation. I can show the same rule to 10 different people and could get at least as many interpretations back. Yes, they try to make it uniform, but everything is always colored by personal experience, etc. This also comes into play with the difference between the casual fan, a sports broadcaster and referees when they see the same thing. (More on this in a bit).
The next factor, which ties into what I wrote above, is simply rule understanding/interpretation. The average fan who follows a sport closely tends to think they know AND understand AND could implement any given rule. It is more so the case for those who make their living in sports talk. Some are much better than others, but there still tends to be a bigger gap between expressed and actual knowledge than one would think.
Of course, making the above factor even worse and widening the usual knowledge gap is the fact that the NFL is making rules that cannot be uniformly understood and/or enforced. I will use the most obvious example: the incomplete/complete pass rules. The rule as written is ridiculous and the way it is reasoned out and then explained to refs is.... stupid. Even when the majority of the calls are correct (and yes, by the letter of the rules, most HAVE been correct), there is no way to explain exactly why it is correct without making it sound like you are making it up as you go or losing he listener after the first couple of words. Even worse, in most controversial rules, there is at least a logical explanation of why the rule change was needed. Here, there isn't any.If there is a legitimate backing for why the rule change was made, most people can usually adjust and be able to put the new rule into a framework that makes sense. Again, that isn't possible with the new rules. It is a no win situation . Even when the call is wrong, again by the letter of the rule, the explanation is so similar to when it is right, there is little way to trust those interpreting it.
2) I do need to say something here. With all of the WTF's coming from fans and sports talk radio, people asking why the NFL can't leave well enough alone or why do they go overboard pretty much every time. Well, while it may be true that most owners are out of touch with the individual fans, they are guided a lot by the team's 'fan nation'. Same with the onslaught of talk radio, with fans and 'experts' talking about the teams, the league, etc. And what tends to bring the most talk, and usually the most heat. Yes, what is wrong, what is pissing off the fans, what the teams/league is not doing right. Most of the time, this sports talk is not balanced and even the dimmest fan's opinion pretty much ends up with as much weight as the most astute fan's. It is usually not how is this rule working across the board; it is almost exclusively how did this rule screw my team. So, the masses don't like a rule and the outcry begins...and builds... and ...viola, suddenly it is a good idea to make a change. Then what happens, the rules get changed and rarely to anything simpler. Crap builds upon crap and more is dumped on the officials that they have to 'know' and keep straight for an entire season.
So, while there is blame that falls at the feet of the league and owners, blame also must fall at the feet of the players, the 'experts' and the fans. Of course, by its nature, fan is short for fanatic and reason very rarely (if ever) plays a part in it. It is about emotion. It will be hard to get away from things like the complete/incomplete rule as long as emotion holds a stronger sway than reason.
It sounds bad, but I am really not condemning any particular group here. The emotion is one of the things I love about sports, whether watching, playing, coaching or officiating. While emotion may cause things to go wonky at times, it would be much worse if the passion ever took a constant second fiddle to the logical/rational. I think that would kill sports quicker than anything.
So, while there will be a gnashing of teeth and girding of loins as I watch different sport events, it is good to step back ever once in a while and realize the bigger picture. I will cheer for my teams or players and hope that when there are changes made that they will be good for the whole league (and cross my fingers that they are even better for my team, I AM a fan after all).
And when I hear the complaints and the gnashing of teeth, I will understand the basics of why.. and hope the noise ends up making changes that ARE good for the league overall (even if I still complain when it isn't good for my team in individual instances).
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