Sharon Higgins
CFL.ca
It’s Official!
I have officially launched myself into the world of officiating – or in the words of our officials, ‘the dark side’. I decided it’s time for me to get to know and understand the nitty gritty of their game.
I am quite surprised with myself at this turn in events. I have been immersed in many aspects of the football world for my entire adult life, but learning about official duties has not been one of them.
In total, there are seven on field officials. Only during playoff games and the Grey Cup are extra officials in attendance to take over, in case of injury or sickness. In regular season games if a situation arises where an official can’t perform his duties, the other officials are well trained to carry on in the game, switching up positions and posts in order to provide continued and consistent coverage.
Tom has taught me about the referee or man in charge (who coincidently wears the black hat) and how his primary responsibility is to watch the quarterback. There are five officials who keep their eyes on the receivers. In the past I watched the receivers break the huddle and point to the line of scrimmage officials. I was always curious as to what that action was all about. It seemed to me they were gesturing to the official to watch how good they were, or to tell them to stay out of their way. Now I know the wide receivers are asking for assistance to ensure they are on the line of scrimmage.
I am fascinated that the umpire is in the centre of the action (behind the line backers) and how he is the one most likely to get mixed up in a play and get knocked about by the players. I also learned the field judge is located behind the safety and is responsible for making sure the ball is snapped before the twenty-second clock expires.
Through osmosis, living with Tom and learning about the dark side, I know the three downfield officials have the responsibility to count the number of defensive players on each play.
Sitting in the stands at last year’s Grey Cup, I knew on the last play of the game, when these officials threw their flags simultaneously, the game wasn’t over. A game can’t end on a penalty and more than likely the call would be ‘too many men on the field’. My heart stopped momentarily, wondering about the possibility of a mistake; something that would jeopardize them, the outcome of the game and most importantly my husband’s job! Silly me, I should have had more faith than that. I know our officials can count!
It has been with great interest that I have observed Tom establish himself in the role as Director of Officiating. He would say his task is to communicate between the coaches and officials, having everyone work effectively and in harmony towards a greater cause. Although this is true, week in and week out there are always many blazes to extinguish so I have added my own tag name for him. Fireman Tom!
Tom says he is the luckiest man in Canada because he gets paid to watch every football game. When he isn’t watching from the Command Centre or visiting a team and watching from the press box, he watches from home in front of our TV. He watches every pre-game show to see what the scuttlebutt is in the media. Sometimes there is important information to be derived from what the word is on the street.
During the game he scripts a chronicle of each quarter, play-by-play and of course, penalty by penalty. His phone rings, pings or buzzes off and on during the entire game. He is in constant contact with the Command Centre, the official supervisor in the press box, the CFL on TSN panel and the TSN play-by-play announcers. If there happens to be a controversial call, then the rings, pings and buzzes double up.
At the end of each weekend and four football games there are usually four head coaches who are happy and four who presumably are not. Sometimes it’s within minutes of the end of the game and sometimes it’s not until the next day that Fireman Tom has to spring into action dousing the flames.
In watching Tom’s games in the past as either player or coach, I was most interested in seeing us win. Those darn Officials were never around when you needed them and when you wished they hadn’t seen an infraction, there were swarms of them everywhere catapulting their flags in the air unrelentingly. I have slammed many a fist down over some of their calls in years gone by because, of course, it felt like they were against us, making it easy to point a finger at them rather than admit to our own failure. It might be hard to believe but I have even been known to give a few of them an unruly nickname or two.
Tom would generally remain pretty neutral about the officials saying that rarely does one play affect the outcome of a game. Adding, you shouldn’t let one call determine the win or loss but instead use the opportunities given to you to score enough points to win. Although it should be an easy aphorism to follow, it is not always easy to live it.
I haven’t officially crossed over to the “dark side” just yet but I am enjoying understanding a whole other facet of the game. Not to mention, I certainly have more of an appreciation for these men and the crucial job they do.
