[You Betcha]

I have to disagree with nearly everyone on this thread. I agree there are some poor officials in the 15th. Every region has some poor officials. Afterall it's high school, not NCAA Division I or the NBA.

But there are some very good officials in the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th regions. In fact, most games I watch are well officiated.

When I see the crowd complain, it's usually on a close play that could go either way. Yes, I know some calls are simply blown. But those are rare. Usually the crowd is upset because the want a particular outcome from a play. They're not necessarily interested in the right call, they want a favorable call. There's a huge difference. When they don't get a favorable call, they convince themselves the officials are horrible.

Try this as a test. Go watch a game in which you don't care one way or another who wins. Watch the crowd react to the officials. Sure, there are going to be some bad calls. But see if you don't agree with me that most of the time the refs are doing a fine job. Yet the crowd will be screaming bloody murder!

I'm telling you, the refs are not as bad as posters on this and other discussion boards say they are.

Take another challenge. Read the rule book and see how many rules are different from what you had assumed they were.

If you're really brave, go and ref some pee wee, grade school or middle school games. You don't have to be llicensed by the state to do those games, although smart schools will require certification anyway. See for yourself how easy it is to call a game. See for yourself what it's like to make what you think is the right call and have the crowd all over you like you are a total idiot.

I don't think 10% of the people complaining about the refs could survive calling even a pee wee game. So with all due respect, I think we ought to honor those who are doing the dirty work of officiating high school games rather than treating them like so much dung!