Quote:
Originally Posted by Silock
There was a freakanomics episode about officiating and how it usually favors the home team because of the referees getting intimidated by the crowd. I think KU's raucous atmosphere definitely makes a difference, whereas in arenas where the crowd isn't quite so rambunctious, there is less of a difference in officials' calls.
I know that KU has a couple of referees that really dislike the Jayhawks, like John Higgins.
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I agree. And I'll add that once a program is labeled "elite" (and KU's is very elite) there's a phenomenon that goes unspoken that those programs, and their elite players, tend to get calls. You can't put your finger on it, but it's as apparant as invisible air, it's just there. Yet people with dilute the argument with "there's a hold on every play," "they neext to protect .....," "they weren't in the right position to make the call," "you have to earn respect," so on and so forth. By the time you're done, the obvious charge under the basket is written of to "letting them play," but 12 seconds later, at the other end of the court, the shadow that touched a players underarm hair is called a shooting foul. A ball that's six inches off the black of the plate is called a strike (Smoltz and Glavine int he 90s [and I'm an Atlanta fan!]), so written off as, "well it's a hitters game, and the camera isn't behind the plate," (not dumbass, it's over it - the best angle!) - and K-zone technology is still written off. Ties at 1st base not being reviewable because, "it'd slow down the pace of the game" (and illuminate the need for electronic help if you want to get the call right)!
So officiating is challenging, I'm the father of a young Football/Baseball/Wrestling "official" who loves it, but has learned how difficult it is. He's also learned how to take a dressing-down by a few coaches and some Moms too.. And at his level, I think it's OK to not have electronic help because of the cost, but when you get into these HUGE money situations, not only should the "help" be dutifully incorporated into the sport, but an open review of the officials should be OK. My God, if politicians can take the heat of open public review, these "real" people should be able to too.