NFL referees holding out for more money like a pre-madonna wide receiver who wants to be paid 5.6 mil instead of 4, does that sound legit? It may at first, but let me grace you with my twisted thoughts on the whole situation. What if this thing was a conspiracy to have the American public regard NFL referees as heros instead of villains for once? Hold on, let’s talk this one through. Last year this time, I thought of NFL referees as a nuisance, I actually hated them at times and thought they slowed the game down. In my eyes, they were power hungry and were only out to keep the players in their place at times. But, fast forward one year and I couldn’t wait to have them back. I was begging for them to return, yelling at my TV on a frustrating Monday night. How long has it been since their last hold out? It has to be 20 plus years of fans/players/coaches harboring hate and resentment towards the officiators of the game.
All this pent up frustration may put the refs on suicide watch time to time after a bad call. But let’s face it, they do a job no one wants to do, the camera never zooms in on them when they make the correct or favored call, but when they reverse a touchdown or call back an 80 yard pass for holding on the line, all hell breaks loose and they are demonized. So it only makes sense that their one hope of regaining the favor of the NFL and its fans everywhere was to exit stage left and let some inexperienced idiots try and do their job for a few weeks. The holding out for more money is a great cop-out, who doesn’t want more money? But I say it wasn’t about the money, it was about creating a demand for themselves and proving to America that they need great officiating in the NFL and that these guys help the game in many ways that usually go unnoticed or unappreciated. Whether the plan was a cooperative rouse by the NFL and referees or just the refs flying solo, it worked. They even look physically superior to the replacements. Every time a new official called holding we would get a little HD tricep giggle, but when the old referees returned it looked like they vowed to live in the weight room until the lock out was over. The microphoned ref was even a little too showboaty in his debut on Thursday, almost singing out calls over the loudspeakers. It was kind of funny. Well, welcome back you crafty devils, you. Get your whistle, whistle, flag on while taking it to the bank. Boom baby!
My NFL Referee Conspiracy: Creating a Demand,
Hmm…good point