For those of you who read my blog on a regular basis, this one is going to be short and sweet.
My husband and I are watching a CFL football game between Toronto (the thuganots) and Winnipeg (the notthereeverygameanots). It would appear that the CFL is incapable of finding officials that can call a fair game. This isn’t a new problem. This is a consistent problem. If you had people like this running projects in my world, they would be fired.
So, Mr. Cohon, what are your choices? Let me give you a couple.
- Don’t play another game in the CFL until you find officials who can call a fair game. It would appear that Toronto gets to disregard the rules and don’t make me itemize the list. Because, honestly, you don’t want to know how many times the officials fail to call the plays. In fact, sometimes they are the 13th player for Toronto and Montreal. I know there is only 12 but it is hard to show up to play when you know the officials are so unprofessional and poorly trained that they can’t get their act together. In fact, I am sure if persuaded they could buy a new act at a retail store that would be more effective.
- Make the officials accountable for the outcome. Fine them for bad calls. I know. If you fine them, it is hard to find new ones. Well, if you could get the local associations to respond to email, you might find more people interested in being officials. I would be one. I am healthy, can see, can run the length of the field and have no allegiance to any team. It should be about fairness. When the game tape shows bad calls, consider a redo. I know. It has never been done before. Sports is about who wins. ‘Expletive deleted here’, a win from bad calls is worse than a loss. Because just in case you wondered, when a loss is because of the officiating, it isn’t a loss it is a travesty. In fact, it is fundamentally wrong.
- Fine the hell out of players who play to hurt and incompetent officials. In fact, suspend them permanently. This is a game. Emphasis on a game. Any player who intentionally or unintentionally hurts a player of the opposite team should be given their walking papers. I just watched a hit that was a helmet hit. Give me a break. None of these players are wearing Kevlar vests. Maybe, they should. No player can give any excuse for stupid plays. I know. They were trained that way. So what! Just because their original coaches were neanderthals, doesn’t mean that they should perpetuate the stupidity. If you won’t fine them, the team should. If the team won’t fine them, fine the team.
- This is a small league. Every day, teams struggle to make the money to ensure the next year. Bad officiating does as much to piss off the fans and losing. In fact, if you had to pick between the two, bad officiating would come to the top of the list. I can tell you that sitting in the stands, knowing the rules, and watching officials who don’t give a ‘rats behind’ about the game call plays is disheartening. It is enough to make me consider turning in my season tickets and going back to the NFL.
Before you decide that as a female, I don’t have the experience to make the above comments. I played hockey, soccer, rugby and baseball. All of which had officials who were awake for the entire game. I have played full contact sports and expected to be called for bad plays and intent to injure. Get with the program.
I am both a fan of CFL and NFL football. Trust me when I tell you that the fans of NFL would have busted the executive of the CFL to buck private for allowing these shenanigans to continue. If you can’t find officials that can see and are impartial, start a training program.
I forgot to add. For my US readers, Mark Cohon is the Commissioner of the Canadian Football League. New (2007 .. seems to be a long learning curve), but no more effective than the bozo he replaced. I am sure he would tell you that he is just getting his feet wet. Bull. In order to get this job, he needs to know more about Canadian Football than it has a longer, wider field, less downs and a shorter, fatter ball. It would appear that he doesn’t.
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