I was in junior high watching it at home with my dad, who was normally a stickler for us obeying a strict bedtime. Several times in the second half he said something to the effect of "you should go to bed", but never pushed it. Probably midway to the fourth quarter I could sense he had quietly acquiesced to me watching the duration. It also took us a few moments to realize it was getting called back.Speaking of college football and Notre Dame, the 1990 Colorado "national title" is one of the bigger farces. Rocket Ismail's game-winning punt return called back on a pretty questionable clipping call in the Orange Bowl.
A young Major was actually at that game rooting on ND. We all thought they won and were going crazy. Such a great moment instantly dashed by a phantom call.
Weird.Malice at the palace ruined the NBA for me.
Weird.Malice at the palace ruined the NBA for me.
Of all the reasons to not like the NBA, you go with that?
I went to an umping clinic a few years ago. I was amazed at how hard it was drilled into you that you are in control and don't let anybody intimidate you or show you up. Take control early and put everyone in their place. Don't ever let a coach (this was mainly for LL/HS umpires) even mention the rule book when discussing a call. That was reason for automatic ejection. I was flabbergasted. I thought the point was to get the call correct. If a coach could show me a rule that I got wrong quickly I am all for that. I might learn something that I missed. But the tone was to never let any of that happen. After going through that I understood why the umps in our area were so confrontational. It was sad.
That was pretty bad. Also, bad those teams were quite good that year so their respective fanbases arguably lost a potentially great season to the stupidity that was the Malice at the Palace.Weird.Malice at the palace ruined the NBA for me.
Of all the reasons to not like the NBA, you go with that??
That was the first time I ever cried at the end of a sporting event. I was 6. My father went to his grave swearing that game was fixed.Super Bowl III, I threw a small TV out my upstairs bedroom window. I was 9. I got my arse handed to me by my mother.
And we Jets fans have been crying ever since that sporting event.That was the first time I ever cried at the end of a sporting event. I was 6.Super Bowl III, I threw a small TV out my upstairs bedroom window. I was 9. I got my arse handed to me by my mother.
The only part I agreed with regarding the rule book discussion is that it has the potential to delay the game too much if the coach doesn't have the reference immediately ready. If the coach is going through the book to find something there is no place for that. You either have it exactly ready or you wait until between innings to look it up and then show me between innings and we can discuss and make sure it is right for the next time. Sucks for the short term if the call was wrong but it goes that way sometimes.Exactly this. I can't believe that "knowing the rules better than the ump" is grounds for ejection. That's absolutely ridiculous. It shows exactly why the ego is the problem. The ego becomes more important than the game.
I thought about this a bit, but I was just a bit too young (8) to grasp what was happening and there was no one angry around me to help.The U.S, men's hoops team getting absolutely robbed in the Munich Olympics was tough to take.
I was 10. So, pretty dumb - but even I knew at the time that it was garbage. The USSR team was really good, but the USA beat them like 7 different times in that game and there were multiple resets that made no sense.I thought about this a bit, but I was just a bit too young (8) to grasp what was happening and there was no one angry around me to help.The U.S, men's hoops team getting absolutely robbed in the Munich Olympics was tough to take.
People often ask about my distain for refs. Being these kids and having these calls made so poorly and obviously incorrectly is amazing. Esp when the call is made by someone no where near the play or in a bad position and is guessing.No one said it had to be a professional sporting event. I have two stories with similar outcomes,and both involved the same group of kids. One of our sons played football, and the team was tied in the last few minutes in the state championship game. All they needed to do was burn clock and get some points to win. They moved the ball with relative ease down the field and got inside the 10 yard line, mostly running the football. With about 20 seconds left, we called a swing pass to the RB out of the backfield, but the defensive end got his paws up and deflected the pass. That changed the trajectory of the ball, which landed behind the RB. The problem was, the refs missed the deflection and didn't blow the whistle. The ball just lay on the field, and a defender picked it up and jogged 90 yards for the winning TD. The refs ruled it as a lateral and therefore a fumble, even though it was clearly a forward pass . . . except none of the refs saw that part.
The same team made it to the HS state championship again two years later. In a similar situation, they had the ball 4th and goal with seconds left at the 8 yard line. The QB rolled out and hit a WR along the sideline in the end zone for what should have been the game winning TD. The receiver caught the ball, took one step, then another step, and then ran out of bounds. All he need was one foot in for the reception. The team went crazy, the announcer called it a TD as time expired, and all the kids were elated. Not so fast. A ref ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FIELD huddled the officiating crew and said he saw the receiver bobble the ball, and he claimed the WR never had full possession before he got a foot down in bounds. He was the senior official, the other refs deferred to him, and the play was called incomplete. The play happened right in front of the stands, and people had clear video of it. There was no bobble, and the kid was in bounds with plenty to scare. The sideline ref and the back judge were both right there on the play. But the guy 50 yards away with an obstructed view saw a bobble. Game over, you lose . . . again.
So much this!!! People in the soccer threads know to me Angel Hernandez = Michael Oliver, with Anthony Taylor making a case as well. Its crazy how relieved I am when I do not know the ref by name.All the major leagues have gone along with this, too. I hate that I know the names of umpires in baseball and referees in football and basketball... they should be invisible. Their impact should be minimal, just keep the game going fairly. They should be interchangeable, I shouldn't be finding out "oh no, it's an Angel Hernandez game" and know it's going to be a farce before the first pitch is thrown.