High school sporting events, fans and referees.

T

Tesoro

Well-known member
I had an awakening last night at my daughters varsity soccer game. After sitting on the same side as one of the worst fan base in any school, I came to realize how stupid people sound when yelling at referees. Why were we sitting on the same side of the field? Apparently the other schools fans were too stupid to read or too lazy to walk the additional 80 yards to the other side.

Yelling at refs while sitting right aside of their kids. Great example on how to treat authority.

It's no secret as to why referees are so hard to come by. The abuse they take at the hands of idiotic disrespectful fans isn't worth the $50.00 they make. And, this particular school has a record of terrible fans, such that, they can't get good refs to come to ref their games.

Never again will I yell at a ref.
 
 
Oh, I'll yell. I'll yell to complain about the stupid and biased call they were obviously paid-off to make. I just apologize later. :D

There's yelling and there's abuse. To me it sounds like you're describing abuse. You were home team? AD should have had a word with their AD to put an end to it. And yeah, it does sound stupid and it's no fun to sit near those people. Fence standers are usually WAY more civilized. I'll usually head over there.
 
Tesoro said:
I had an awakening last night at my daughters varsity soccer game. After sitting on the same side as one of the worst fan base in any school, I came to realize how stupid people sound when yelling at referees. Why were we sitting on the same side of the field? Apparently the other schools fans were too stupid to read or too lazy to walk the additional 80 yards to the other side.

Yelling at refs while sitting right aside of their kids. Great example on how to treat authority.

It's no secret as to why referees are so hard to come by. The abuse they take at the hands of idiotic disrespectful fans isn't worth the $50.00 they make. And, this particular school has a record of terrible fans, such that, they can't get good refs to come to ref their games.

Never again will I yell at a ref.
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I have said this for years.

Parents are, BY FAR, the absolute WORST fans in the world. The absolute worst.

Problem is, athletics at the HS lower and below would not exist without them.

I have been surprised at how nasty mom's have become over the years.

Truly is unbearable at times to even sit around parents at any sporting event.
 
eastisbest said:
Oh, I'll yell. I'll yell to complain about the stupid and biased call they were obviously paid-off to make. I just apologize later. :D

There's yelling and there's abuse. To me it sounds like you're describing abuse. You were home team? AD should have had a word with their AD to put an end to it. And yeah, it does sound stupid and it's no fun to sit near those people. Fence standers are usually WAY more civilized. I'll usually head over there.
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For the regular season that is pretty much where I stand and the idiot fans are the main reason why. Although fence standers do have their own allotment of uncle Rico's.

Luckily in the playoffs with the much larger facilities there is ample room to be in the stands with our pee wee program.
 
Tesoro said:
I had an awakening last night at my daughters varsity soccer game. After sitting on the same side as one of the worst fan base in any school, I came to realize how stupid people sound when yelling at referees. Why were we sitting on the same side of the field? Apparently the other schools fans were too stupid to read or too lazy to walk the additional 80 yards to the other side.

Yelling at refs while sitting right aside of their kids. Great example on how to treat authority.

It's no secret as to why referees are so hard to come by. The abuse they take at the hands of idiotic disrespectful fans isn't worth the $50.00 they make. And, this particular school has a record of terrible fans, such that, they can't get good refs to come to ref their games.

Never again will I yell at a ref.
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I've said this for years and years. As much as I love it when parents and family support their kids activities, fan behavior keeps getting worse, generation after generation. And you hit it right, it's nearly impossible to get good young officials because they are run out of the business early on. Most do it as a community service, high school officials are not getting rich.

This, I feel can be controlled by the schools and the coaches. I know, I know, coaches don't need something else to deal with, but fans will follow the coaches lead in so many cases. Also, at the pre-season parents meeting, the coach and AD needs to send a firm message that unruly behavior will not be tolerated. And the bad part is most kids just hate it when their parents cause a scene.

It's been alot of years since I've yelled at a referee. I generally try to tell the people around me that there are 4 quarters, 2 halves, 7 innings, whatever to win a game. One call isn't going to cost the game.
 
14Red said:
I've said this for years and years. As much as I love it when parents and family support their kids activities, fan behavior keeps getting worse, generation after generation. And you hit it right, it's nearly impossible to get good young officials because they are run out of the business early on. Most do it as a community service, high school officials are not getting rich.

This, I feel can be controlled by the schools and the coaches. I know, I know, coaches don't need something else to deal with, but fans will follow the coaches lead in so many cases. Also, at the pre-season parents meeting, the coach and AD needs to send a firm message that unruly behavior will not be tolerated. And the bad part is most kids just hate it when their parents cause a scene.

It's been alot of years since I've yelled at a referee. I generally try to tell the people around me that there are 4 quarters, 2 halves, 7 innings, whatever to win a game. One call isn't going to cost the game.
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Spot on!
 
eastisbest said:
Oh, I'll yell. I'll yell to complain about the stupid and biased call they were obviously paid-off to make. I just apologize later. :D

There's yelling and there's abuse. To me it sounds like you're describing abuse. You were home team? AD should have had a word with their AD to put an end to it. And yeah, it does sound stupid and it's no fun to sit near those people. Fence standers are usually WAY more civilized. I'll usually head over there.
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That’s what happened half way through the second half. Home team exodus to the fence.
 
Tesoro said:
That’s what happened half way through the second half. Home team exodus to the fence.
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and if the bothersome follow, you can get a lot more leverage into your swing standing that sitting. Or just incidental elbows and coffee spills from an organized group can send a message.
 
Ok, I know before I type it that this won't be a popular opinion, but personally I believe that refs should know that some verbal abuse, complaining and booing is part of the gig. This is not new. I'm 45 years old, been playing, coaching, watching some sport for as far back as I can remember and I can remember refs/umps taking abuse just as far back. To me, this is just further proof of us becoming softer as a society. Some fans have always taken it too far. Some fans have always been disrespectful. Refs and umps for the most part have always let it roll off their backs or had the person removed if necessary. If you're a fan and don't like, find somewhere else to watch the game. I've never been to a stadium or a gym that wasn't big enough to find somewhere else to sit or stand.
 
NewOldBlood said:
Ok, I know before I type it that this won't be a popular opinion, but personally I believe that refs should know that some verbal abuse, complaining and booing is part of the gig. This is not new. I'm 45 years old, been playing, coaching, watching some sport for as far back as I can remember and I can remember refs/umps taking abuse just as far back. To me, this is just further proof of us becoming softer as a society. Some fans have always taken it too far. Some fans have always been disrespectful. Refs and umps for the most part have always let it roll off their backs or had the person removed if necessary. If you're a fan and don't like, find somewhere else to watch the game. I've never been to a stadium or a gym that wasn't big enough to find somewhere else to sit or stand.
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Some officials have rabbit ears and respond/talk/hobnobb with fans of which I believe is a no no.
There is a line, no doubt, but if officials have thin skin, like some j/o's on here then it isnt the job for them.
 
Much of the bad behavior comes from helicopter parents who live vicariously through their children. Wonder why so many kids whine? You don't have to look very far.
 
I will never claim to be a perfect parent/fan - I have disagreed with my share of referee calls over the years, but I don't feel like I've ever crossed the line into abuse. I do know that it has gotten out of hand at times, going so far as to confront refs during/after games, which is way out of bounds.

As a side note - I agree with the OP, when a stadium has a home side and a visitors side, sit on the proper side. It's a big pet peeve of mine when fans from the visiting team sit in the home stands (and then top it off by being obnoxious).
 
soccerdad72 said:
I will never claim to be a perfect parent/fan - I have disagreed with my share of referee calls over the years, but I don't feel like I've ever crossed the line into abuse. I do know that it has gotten out of hand at times, going so far as to confront refs during/after games, which is way out of bounds.

As a side note - I agree with the OP, when a stadium has a home side and a visitors side, sit on the proper side. It's a big pet peeve of mine when fans from the visiting team sit in the home stands (and then top it off by being obnoxious).
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I agree 100%, it's one thing to rib them for bad calls. It's another to make it a personal attack. I said earlier that taking some verbal abuse is part of the gig, but being confronted personally, in an aggressive manner is not what they signed up for.

Our local high school built the home side way to big. I like to stand at the top, not big on sitting so many times when I attend games I'll go to the visitors side and stand at the top which is a more reasonable size. When I do this, I wear neutral colors and me and my buddies stay quiet other than to talk among ourselves out of respect for the visiting team. I don't do this when my kids are playing because I get to emotionally involved in the action. I guess it's just knowing your limitations.
 
NewOldBlood said:
Ok, I know before I type it that this won't be a popular opinion, but personally I believe that refs should know that some verbal abuse, complaining and booing is part of the gig. This is not new. I'm 45 years old, been playing, coaching, watching some sport for as far back as I can remember and I can remember refs/umps taking abuse just as far back. To me, this is just further proof of us becoming softer as a society. Some fans have always taken it too far. Some fans have always been disrespectful. Refs and umps for the most part have always let it roll off their backs or had the person removed if necessary. If you're a fan and don't like, find somewhere else to watch the game. I've never been to a stadium or a gym that wasn't big enough to find somewhere else to sit or stand.
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Agreed....

The yelling..... been going on since the beginning of time. It's all just noise to me...... that said, I just don't understand what the yeller expects to gain by continuously yelling.

The abuse, is the problem. (I don't view yelling occasionally as abuse) The amount of physical abuse as well as the verbal abuse (yelling that crosses the line) has increased exponentially over the years.
 
NewOldBlood said:
Our local high school built the home side way to big. I like to stand at the top, not big on sitting so many times when I attend games I'll go to the visitors side and stand at the top which is a more reasonable size. When I do this, I wear neutral colors and me and my buddies stay quiet other than to talk among ourselves out of respect for the visiting team. I don't do this when my kids are playing because I get to emotionally involved in the action. I guess it's just knowing your limitations.
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I can see that and I've been to games where either fans from the other team or neutral folks are sitting in our home stands and just watching. But we've had incidents (remarkably, at soccer games ?‍♂️ ) where other team's fans have gotten rude and obnoxious and then nearly started fights with some of our parents when they've suggested that they should be on the other side of the field. Most of the time, as others have said, it's sheer laziness - they don't want to walk around the track to the other stands, especially late in the season when the weather's crappy.
 
thavoice said:
Some officials have rabbit ears and respond/talk/hobnobb with fans of which I believe is a no no.
There is a line, no doubt, but if officials have thin skin, like some j/o's on here then it isnt the job for them.
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I was at our soccer game a few weeks ago and one of the refs looked up at the stands and said "I have to be here..you don't, knock it off". The guy i in the stands shut up the rest of the game.
 
Everyone’s limit for verbal abuse is different. I personally think the shortage of HS Officials has a lot to do with abusive Coaches and Fans (more so fans) especially with newer or younger Officials. They quickly realize the abuse is not worth the “reward.”
 
This is not yelling at refs, but I've seen grossly obese parents scream at high school teenagers, "Hustle! Stop loafing!" The irony. I once saw that at the end of an intense hard fought soccer game in 90 degree heat where the kids were absolutely drained. The fattie kept telling the kids to hustle more...heck, the 15-17 year old kids were exhausted, dehydrated, could barely breath and were close to puking on the field, after giving it their all, but they weren't hustling enough for the fattie...even after balls were clearly headed 10 yards out of bounds. The well-conditioned, physically fit kids had nothing left in their tank. "Hustle!", the idiot kept screaming.

I've also seen a "respected" doctor childishly taunting and heckling his son's opponents at a HS soccer game. Wow, grow up. It might be OK for the students to heckle the opposing team a bit, but it's not for grown adults to childishly heckle kids.
 
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clarkgriswold said:
I don't mind going to games alone and when I do I find a remote place in the stands where I can sit in peace and enjoy the game without the knuckleheads interfering.
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This is exactly what I do. Unfortunately, I seem to be a magnet for the young kids whose parents allow them to incessantly run up and down the metal bleachers (annoying noise) and also in my sight line of the game. ???
 
soccerdad72 said:
As a side note - I agree with the OP, when a stadium has a home side and a visitors side, sit on the proper side. It's a big pet peeve of mine when fans from the visiting team sit in the home stands (and then top it off by being obnoxious).
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I've seen the other too. Been to a few games where a group of home fans take over a section on the visiting side then cause problems.
 
clarkgriswold said:
I don't mind going to games alone and when I do I find a remote place in the stands where I can sit in peace and enjoy the game without the knuckleheads interfering.
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This.

I've never been a guy who yells and blames officials and I do not like sitting by the average fan. I'm there to watch a game and usually find a remote place to take it in without some knobjob's opinion all game.
 
irish_buffalo said:
This.

I've never been a guy who yells and blames officials and I do not like sitting by the average fan. I'm there to watch a game and usually find a remote place to take it in without some knobjob's opinion all game.
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Fine, buy your own popcorn next time.

irish_buffalo said:
Parents can be really bad and the worst ones are usually the ones that never played themselves.
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The worst ones are those that played and have selective memories how good they were. They best are generally those that were actually good. It's easier to notice in BBall than FBall. Speaking in generalities and of a selective community (Toledo) of course.
 
eastisbest said:
Fine, buy your own popcorn next time.



The worst ones are those that played and have selective memories how good they were. They best are generally those that were actually good. It's easier to notice in BBall than FBall. Speaking in generalities and of a selective community (Toledo) of course.
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I've never seen the words "Toledo" and "selective" used in the same sentence.
 
thavoice said:
I have said this for years.

Parents are, BY FAR, the absolute WORST fans in the world. The absolute worst.

Problem is, athletics at the HS lower and below would not exist without them.

I have been surprised at how nasty mom's have become over the years.

Truly is unbearable at times to even sit around parents at any sporting event.
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The worst are not the ones who consistently show themselves at every contest but the new parents who don't know any better and slowly take their cues from the bad ones. I've sadly seen some parents who were wholesome good people get suckered into the dark side of it all and turn ugly.
 
NewOldBlood said:
Ok, I know before I type it that this won't be a popular opinion, but personally I believe that refs should know that some verbal abuse, complaining and booing is part of the gig. This is not new. I'm 45 years old, been playing, coaching, watching some sport for as far back as I can remember and I can remember refs/umps taking abuse just as far back. To me, this is just further proof of us becoming softer as a society. Some fans have always taken it too far. Some fans have always been disrespectful. Refs and umps for the most part have always let it roll off their backs or had the person removed if necessary. If you're a fan and don't like, find somewhere else to watch the game. I've never been to a stadium or a gym that wasn't big enough to find somewhere else to sit or stand.
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I was going to add this but you beat me to it. As an official it's important to know going in that it's not personal. That parent most likely does this type of behavior every game and it's not you. As an official it's not your alma mater, your kid isn't on the field, etc... it's a paycheck. Let it roll off your back, collect your check and move on.

To put it in $$$$ terms, in South Carolina we pay our wrestling officials $5 a bout. At a large 2 day weekend tournament it's possible to work 16-17 hours and walk away with $600 to your name. For $30+ an hour you can call me whatever you want. I'll officiate my matches, clock out, go to my local watering hole and knock a few back in your name. Go home, sleep like a baby.

While parents and fans have become ever more obnoxious it's important as a professional to have at least some thick skin.

In the words of John Dalton "it's a job, it's nothing personal"
 
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