January 14, 2018

"Games and Rules"

By Jim Culp

(A little prelude: If you've never read my blogs before, let me say up front that they are opinionated, well considered, and not always nice. That's me. I'm a retired soldier, a proud American, and a very concerned citizen. If you have thin skin, or think that unicorns and leprechauns will fix the world, this blog is definitely not for you.)

               It's the end of the second week of 2018, and we are already shaping up to another year here in the USA. It's been colder than a well digger's boot here in the mid-west, and as I write this today; it's snowing and we have about an inch on the ground. It's about 19˚F, the way January should be. I can say it is the first year in a long time that I can remember seeing both of the big rivers being frozen solid.
It's the end of the year for professional football. The best teams of the year are in the playoffs, including my Pittsburgh Steelers. We'll watch these games with family or friends, and cheer our favorites; lose or not.
But one thing about NFL Games that has always bothered me is the referee calls.
Let me digress a minute, and tell you that I have loved games all of my life. I was a chess player starting way back in junior high school, and have been so all of my life. I broke my wrist in football when I was young, and ended my illustrious football career.
I love games, and even design my own line of them. But here's my big caveat...games have rules. Rules dictate whether you can do this or that, how much you advance after that run or catch, and whether your King can "castle" at a certain point or not.
The NFL has a rulebook, but I am inclined these days to believe that either A)the rule book some days must be written in Arabic, and therefore the referees can't decipher it; or B) they interpret the rules as they are either paid or coerced to do.
I do not think that (A) is the case. Every referee can consult the rules anytime he wants with the latest electronic technologies, and coaches and referees alike know the rules very well. That leads me to believe that (B) might just be the deal.
Game after game, I see referees make calls about whether a player is "down" or if he had "possession or control." Great! Make that call, Ref! But here's the issue. Many times (and sometimes in the same game), the referees will make a different decision about the exact same occurrence! Ludicrous...right? So why does the NFL keep allowing this to happen?
My conclusion is that it has something to do with little pieces of green paper, and they typically have a U.S. President's portrait on the front of them.

-Jim

 

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