Josh Ouellette
By Josh Ouellette
I work for the Mid Valley so I get the privilege of getting to see a high school football game every Friday night.In the season and a half that I’ve been doing this I have gotten to see some amazing games, jaw-dropping plays, and fantastic individual performances.
My job is to report what happens out there. Every week I go back to the office and do my job to the best of my capability. I try to stay un-biased and professional. I try to include as many players in my stories as I can when they perform well. I try to do right by the team and its supporters.
My only problem with my job is watching the referees take away from the magic that is football. They saturate the game and muddy it up. They make calls on the field, which never happen, and don’t throw the flag on some plays involving flagrancies. I know they are human, but in some instances I believe this goes way beyond human error and enters the realm of human arrogance.
When I was a player I thought it was because the ref was out to get me because of something I said or something I did on a play. Or even because I reminded him of someone he hated. I always chalked these thoughts up to being crazy. But now when I watch this happening I don’t feel so crazy anymore.
I have seen refs stare down a player, almost begging him to make a mistake. I have seen flags thrown for a coach asking about a play. I have heard, like I’m sure many have, about the game between Temple City and Arcadia where the referees just walked right off the field. They aren’t being there for the players. I know that isn’t their job, but they should be to an extent to make the game better, not take away from it with personal agenda.
This issue has been heavy on my heart for some time now because I know how it feels. I know the pain of a holding call I know I didn’t commit but got called for because the referee is one who I have openly told is blind as a bat in my freshman year and then paid for it four years later. That just isn’t right.
I say let the players affect the game. Let their talents and hard work be the thing the people take away-not a hatred for the over-zealous ref who cares more about making sure he is in charge than about what and who, high school football is really about – the players.
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