[QUOTE=Enright3]
As an umpire who officiates everything from Division I to 10 & Under…/QUOTE]
Dude, have you ever met Ed Hochuli? That guy could wrestle a bull moose to the ground with a smile on his face.
Enright3, I never have and never will condone violence toward an official or a member of the opposing team. If I see them after the game when we’re feeding the opposing team, I always invite them to fix a plate, and thank them for their work. I know it is a thankless job. However, minor league hockey gets a wide assortment of refs - some of which are good, some are mediocre and a very few who couldn’t find their ass with both hands and a flashlight. When I see a bad call, I have to say something or I will sit there and explode! So I try not to be profane. Besides, where I sit (front row) they can’t hear me for the glass anyway. It’s just a juvenile way of releasing tension.
By the way - thanks for the great lines! I don’t watch baseball, but some of these can be adapted…
Actually, wouldn’t the correct Doper response to a bad call be
“CITE!”?
You’ve summed it up beautifully.
I agree about the wrongs of harassing officials. But if we’re cataloguing, here’s a chant I heard only once at a college football game:
“The ref needs a wife! The ref needs a wife! The ref needs a wife so he’ll stop screwing us!”
Right after that ended, I added “Or at least a dog…” that shocked my friend next to me pretty good…
[QUOTE=Hung Mung]
Hochuli? He’s no Brasky.
To Bill Brasky!
I feel compelled to add this on…
http://www.davesdaily.com/pictures/131-hockeyfans.htm
Excuse me sir I believe you made an error with that last call.
One time there was an Orioles game and Mike Timlin fielded a come-backer with 1 down, runners on 1st & 2nd. He threw to THIRD.
The next day, I’m at a game in the bleachers, and the exact same situation came up. Pitcher fielded the ball, threw to second and turned 2.
When it quieted down, I stood up and yelled to the bullpen, “Hey Timlin, you see that? He went to second.”
Not only did half the bleachers start cracking up (anyone who watched the game the night before), but so did a player sitting next to Timlin.
My point here is: Heckling is a longstanding honorable tradition. But, if you’re going to heckle, make it timely, original, and somewhat funny. Repeating anything from the long list of cliche-heckles pegs you as a douche.
Classic heckle: the guy who said to Al Belle, “Hey Joey, keg part at my house.”
Al Belle drilled him in the chest with the ball.
As a long-time security guard at an NHL/NBA arena, I agree that violence, profanity and threats, as well as anything that gets a little too personal - say, fans in the front row too-loudly toasting a player who’s known to be in treatment for alcoholism, or a sign that refers to a player’s publicized domestic disputes - toward officials, players, and other fans is NEVER cool. We have to escort officials to and from the dressing room to the court, and from the building to their taxi after the game. If the fans were halfway intelligent and respectful, this shouldn’t even be an issue. (The NBA’s current security requirements, following last year’s melee in Detroit, were largely based on what we have always practiced where I work.)
But, I also attend a fair number of hockey games, mostly AHL, as a fan, and yeah, heckling is a time-honored tradition that the game wouldn’t be the same without. I don’t personally do a whole lot of it myself, but on those rare occasions when I do hear someone come out with something particularly original and witty it gives me a chuckle, and I know it does to many of the officials I know too, at least the ones for hockey. I don’t have as much contact with the NBA officials so I can’t really say what they think. Then again, I also work at perhaps the only arena where a ref has ever gotten a standing ovation (Paul Stewart’s first game post-cancer treatment). And, even though they can’t heckle back, I’ve had officials make comments to me on the side about the fans too. Most of 'em do have a sense of humor. And they do watch replays later to see if they really did blow a call, and they have their “oh, shit,” moments when they realize they did. They’re human. It just all comes down to not crossing the line and leaving it in your seat at the end of the game.