Ref respect
Maclaine Chadwick | Sports Editor
I’m not a parent. I can’t relate to being a hockey mom, and I don’t know the feeling of watching my child work their ass off to get to a provincial gold-medal game, only to lose a medal and a trip to the national championships as well. I’m sure it’s a difficult thing to go through, but is it worth losing your voice screaming at the referee?
To preface this column, I need to specify that I am not trying to generalize. I am referring specifically to a few fans who I had the uncomfortable and deafening experience of sitting behind during the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Final Four tournament held at the University of Ottawa this weekend. Although similar characters likely pop up at Little League games or other university-level sporting events (please feel free to pass this advice along to them), the following rant is directed in particular to the loudmouths who were sitting in front of me.
No, the world of sports is not conspiring against your kids
Okay, so you watched the news this summer when conspiracy theories about NBA referees were being tossed around. That doesn’t mean it’s happening here, so don’t accuse that man or woman of committing a career-ending act just because he or she made a call against your team, or missed a call against the other team. To add to this, the refs are not “homers.” In fact, for a tournament as important as this one, they were likely hired from out of town to avoid bias.
Duh… just, duh
My next point is so obvious it almost embarrasses me to have to say it. There is a reason the refs work on the field, ice, or court. Being on the field and supported by linesmen at the sidelines naturally give referees a better view—and thus make them a much better judge of whether the ball is in or out than you are from your cozy position in the stands with a blanket, a large double-double, and a field of vision blocked by the backs of other fans’ heads. That is why they are the referees, and you are not.
You are an adult—act like it
You’ve probably been watching your kid play soccer their whole life and have a good grasp of the rules, so why are you contesting a foul when I just saw your player steamroll one of ours? Don’t get mad at the referee when your team screws up. If the referee misses a call, which does happen, that does not give you the right to personally attack the official and call him or her an idiot. It is outlined in the OUA’s fan code of conduct: “When attending a game, spectators are required to refrain from…verbal or physical harassment of opposing team fans, officials, opponents or other person[s],” but it is also a simple matter of respect.
To summarize, please grow up. Focus on cheering on your team instead of hating on the people running around in shorts in below-zero weather who probably can’t hear you anyway. You look ridiculous.
