The Trials and Tribulations of Reffing

Got a chance to ref a dodgeball game over the weekend and gained a degree of respect for how hard reffing is. I also gained an appreciation for how much of a rush reffing can be and the power trip that one can go on.
Hardest things about reffing:

1.)    Being ready all the time- especially at the beginning, the ref sets the tone by starting the match, making sure everything’s operating properly, etc., before beginning. Stopwatches need to be set,

2.)    Not doubting one’s calls- often there’s doubt that sets in immediately after making the call, especially if someone comes and argues it. Sometimes these doubts are founded, but I find that with experience and seeing plays comes confidence to know that I am right.

3.)    No personal vendettas- against certain players (like Joey Crawford- Tim Duncan). Call it down the middle.

4.)    Don’t only rely on reputation. Some players have the “Rasheed Wallace syndrome” of being hotheads or the Manu Ginobili syndrome of being known floppers. Don’t rely on this and try calling it down the middle, but do have it in the back of one’s mind. Those players often think they can “pull a fast one” and get away with it which is where the ref has to lay down the law.

5.)    Don’t go on a power trip. Don’t insert oneself into the game, get whistle-happy, etc.

6.)    Don’t have personal preferences like “not liking that people don’t take their outs on blocks so I will make sure to get every one of those right.” There are A LOT of things going on in any game, not just dodgeball, better to concentrate on everything going on than trying to “lay down the law” in one facet of the game.

7.)    CONCENTRATION. Not once during my hour of reffing did I have any time for chitchat, distraction, checking my phone, checking out cute girls, anything. I watched the game and darted my eyes from one player to the next. There was no time, and I appreciate that the ref take the responsibility of being a fair arbiter seriously.

8.)    Accept that one can’t get everything 100% correct. No one is. At the end of the hour of reffing, I knew I had probably made a mistake or two. Just like bouncing balls, bad breaks, and the game of inches, reffing is also part of the game and hopefully the breaks all even out and the best team wins.

So yea, reffing is hard. I don’t know about professional reffing, except that they get paid a decent amount to do it, so they should be pretty good at it. Seems to me that baseball refs have the most opportunity to get it right as there are like at least 4, sometimes 5 or 6 of them on each play only watching over 9 -13 players counting the hitter and baserunners, whereas the proportion is tougher in basketball and football as well as the interaction between players (physical contact and gauging the degree of contact)

 

 

The No. 1 takeaway from this season of fantasy football, and I’ve been BEATING THE DRUM on this for years, is that I’d rather have a WR stud than a RB in the first few rounds. Beyond the often-heard cliché that it’s become a passing league (insinuating that WR’s are more valuabe), which happens to be true, IMO, WR’s get hurt than RB, which seems inherent given the pounding that RB’s take on, the number of committee backfields, as well as the ability to pick up a stud RB off the waiver wire. Roles change, running backs get hurt, preseason “stud backs” like Zac Stacy become fantasy irrelevant very quickly and disappear off the depth chart, whereas No. 1 and even No. 2 receivers like DeSean Jackson or Roddy White retain their position on the team and are fairly entrenched in their role. Basically, WR’s put up about the same amount of points as RB’s nowadays and are more stable. I’d take WR’s. My first few rounds this year I took Jordy Nelson and Demariyus Thomas instead of the traditional 2 RB-set (I would have probably gotten someone who’s hurt) and I couldn’t be happier.

Also, get a kicker who a.) is capable of hitting long FG’s and b.) has a good offense/good QB. Other factors like being at home and playing against an inferior NFL opponent (so the team usually has the lead increasing the chance of FG’s) are also helpful.

Defenses- good luck guessing which ones will be good. San Francisco, Carolina, and Seattle, the top defenses last year, are nowhere near the top 5 this season. Defense is down all around. Just try to avoid posting negative numbers in any given week.

 

Fantasize on,

 

Robert Yan