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Replacement referees

20120925-101845.jpgFor those of us football fans who have watched the decline I’m the game in just three weeks, we can honestly say that the NFL has picked the wrong people to officiate the game.

Bad calls, loss of control and the flow of the game has turned the fall to winter sport into a festive joke. Let me change channels here for a second and bring attention to the fact that if the owners of this industry do not take control of this league we will be replaced by substitutes as well. Wrong calls in the NFL are all part of a game where millions of dollars are at stake. Wrong calls are not a game where many lives are at stake.

I have noticed that there are more and more training and protection shops popping up that are luring specialists to a gray area. Terms like elite special forces from XYZ country gives the journeyman the bait and hook to bite. When they go through the course their heads are filled with all the right (wrong) verbiage to fulfill the prophecy that has been portrayed and not perfected.

I am a proponent of getting training when you can. But the key is that you have to put any and all of it in perspective. You may attend a 5 day course from a foreign instructor and learn a bunch of cool stuff but the reality Is that you may only be able to use one aspect in CONUS. What they do in the Gaza strip may not apply on Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC. Here’s a secret – The US based official protection teams are not evolving to that either.

1 comment

  1. Josh Lee

    The NFL finally stepped up and put the right people for the job back in place.
    The situation with the replacement ref’s looks very similar to the state of the EP industry today. The NFL (client) felt the regular referee’s (EP Specialists) who are very good at what they do and work hard to stay at the top of their game, weren’t worth investing into long-term, and dredded the possibility of paying them more money. So they decided to go with a more cost-effective approach….replacements refs. (lower tier, bodyguard wannabe’s).

    Sure, at first glance it appeared the replacements were doing a good job. However, as time went on, simple calls were missed, the speed of the game was too fast, and player respect and game control was completely lost. Eventually, it cost one team A GAME! (Client life or reputation).

    Guess what happened…the NFL (Client) goes back to bargaining table with the regular refs (EP Specialists), realizing the skills, preparation and experience they provide is invaluable to preserve the quality of the game (life). The original refs are now back in service and we can all agree we’ll see a much better product on the field this season.

    As you said, thank god this situation only cost one team a game, not someone’s life. It’s hard to produce gold with a big pile of copper…

    Good stuff Eric.

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