Super Bowl!!

So last year I compared World Cup to the Super Bowl, and got into some general Super Bowl lore in "It's Superbowl Day."

This year I am a bit more vested as the New England Patriots are in playing the New York Giants in a Super Bowl rematch that I am looking forward to.

Football aside however, I enjoy the TV commercials the most and am hoping the 2012 versions are better than the 2011 ones ... save one exception noted below which was by far my favorite.



It makes me wonder though ... this young man seems to have all the makings of a future referee. After all, who parades around in a Darth Vader costume?

My least favorite leading up to the Big Game is here:



As these guys tried, and failed, to be funny (save Manning's line of 'a guy has to work') by again poking fun at referee Phil Luckett from the November 26, 1998 coin tossing incident. Too bad as detailed in this analysis by Referee Magazine that Bettis lied about the incident and threw Luckett under the ... errr ... Bus.

For the record as detailed in the story, Luckett got it right, and Bus was just plain wrong.

Yes Stanley, we are ...

Are We All Nuts?
A Personal Story by Stanley Lover

Look at the facts. We are an endangered species. More than a million of us worldwide, dying out like dinosaurs of a bygone age. Our demise is largely due to our own folly for we suffer the cruelty of human nature from the very people we help add sunshine into workaday lives. We put up with insults, abuse, threats and assaults.

Trained experts in our field, we are the targets for the masses who protest, contest, accuse us of corruption and worse.

No, we are not politicians. We are sports officials.

According to verbal taunts from the sidelines we are the lowest form of human existence, illegitimate offspring of unmarried parents, fair game for insults and humiliation. So, why do we do it? Are we all nuts? ...

See the whole story here, from referee magazine.

Kicking Back Comments: A fun read. This was especially true in light of the article Kicking Back ran the other day in "How to get into college 101", where we had a view from a young referee in their college essay.

Very interesting to juxtapose the two essays. There were more than a few common threads, and a few things that did not align at all. If I had to pick a "side" though, it would be Stanley's.

Then again, I'm an old guy now and 20 years ago, I no doubt would have had a different view. Funny how my perspective of The Game has changed with me as I have gotten older. Sure a shame FIFA has cut, and likely will continue to cut, the age limit on the highest level referees. There is something to be said for life experience.

Word on the street ...

... is FIFA Street 2012 (FIFA Street 4) will be available March 13th, 2012. Check out the trailer below. Looks pretty cool.

Death toll rises to 79 from soccer riots in Egypt

Cairo (CNN) -- The death toll from a riot at a soccer game in Egypt rose to 79, officials said Thursday, as many continued to mourn and look for the reasons behind the deadly melee.

A somber crowd of hundreds were in Cairo's Tahrir Square Thursday, some saying chants decrying Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Many were wearing the popular apparel of the Al-Ahly club. ...

See the whole story and video below here, from CNN.


Kicking Back Comments: At 1:55 of this video the reporter is describing the scene of fan(atics) entering the field and celebrating with the team after a goal. This reporter continues by saying regarding this, "... the referee didn't do anything ... ."


What exactly is a referee to do?


For me, find your team, find security, get safe, abandon, and write a match report. For the matches I have abandoned this is what I generally have done. What we see on the video is nothing like I have ever experienced before personally however. Primary concern I think in a case like this is get you and your team safely away however you can. Remove your jersey and get out of there to a safe location. I take pride in my uniform, but not more than my life. A referee can write a report that details a situation like this without staying to watch "who wins" at the end. Report what you see on the way to the door, don't feel compelled to stay to observe as referees are a natural target when chaos erupts. Even if you think the violence will not come to you (as with here it would seem political unrest played a part, not a match decision), get out.


Take a look here, 79 people were sadly killed, and scores of others no doubt hurt. Don't be a statistic.


Get your team, get safe, and get out. 

Do I Have To Go Mom?

Photo Credit: USA Today

So unless you have been living under a rock for the last week or so, the controversy about Tim Thomas, Net minder for the NHL Boston Bruins, and his decision  and statements to not accept an invitation from POTUS has just not gone away.

If anyone is interested in other notable athletes that have not accepted a POTUS invitation to the WHite House, just take a look here. Also, former Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstien refused an invitation from POTUS as well, back in 2008.

To stay politically neutral, lets look at Alex Ovechkin, from the NHL Washington Capitals who refused to participate in the NHL All Star Game this year.

Without regard to politics, if put in a similar situation should a referee refuse such an invitation for an "official function?"

My answer is no, if representing yourself as a referee.

Now there is a thin line here as I am also a strong believer of the 1st Amendment to the COTUS, and the acts described above plainly fit into that category. However, if as a referee you are asked to an official function, such as an awards ceremony, you should go if at all possible.

This has nothing to do with the individual in their individual capacity, it has everything to do with you representing yourself as part of a larger team, that of US Soccer referees.

There is always time later to express your individual views, (look at Kicking Back as an example of this as I would have NEVER said most of the things when I was an active referee) but there is also a time to act as a professional and do what is best for the team, not just the individual.

I will say finally that, even if an individual chooses not to accept an invitation to an event, it should not be held against them as to refute ones deeply held personal beliefs, is not conducive to team coherence, which is critically important, especially when you are looking for that offside flag.

Fair and Balanced Indeed

Sepp Blatter, Rupert Murdoch meet after FIFA, Fox seal $425M World Cup TV deal

ZURICH — FIFA President Sepp Blatter met with News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch on Thursday, weeks after their organizations signed a $425 million broadcast deal.

Murdoch later wrote on Twitter that he’d been “with the big chiefs of soccer,” describing FIFA as an “amazing organization.” ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Washington Post.

Kicking Back Comments: KA-CHING!!!

Not Running A Hospital Strikes Again ...

... with more cunning insight about youth soccer, and its inevitable collision with parenting. Paul Levy again shares his experiences with us about the two, through the lens of a soccer referee.

You can see the whole story here from Not Running a Hospital.

Please follow him at:
http://www.runningahospital.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/paulflevy
http://www.facebook.com/pflevy

It stays in the family I guess

John Parry from Akron Ohio has been named referee for Super Bowl 46.

Michigan City native John Parry will be the head referee for Super Bowl XLVI, to be played Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.

Parry, son of the late Dave Parry, also served as an official in Super Bowl XLI between the Bears and Colts.

Parry’s father also officiated in a Super Bowl and was instrumental in collegiate officiating as well, including being the head of the NCAA referees prior to his death in May of 2011. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the Herald Argus.

Kicking Back Comments: I am a big fan of refereeing families. I think it gives rise to a fantastic "built in" support system. I have many, many fond memories of interactions (i.e. debates) with my dad about the LOTG and their application from the in-town leagues I used to do, straight through to the international level.

Funny to that I am beginning to probe to see if Jr. would want to work some in-town matches. That will be a story unto itself I am sure.

TMT Episode 4: Fitness Part 2 of 5

Download it below, or at right from the iTunes Store.

How to get into college 101

For those of you who follow @Kicking_Back, you may have caught this retweet last week.

Some background:

When applying for college it is often required that the applicant write an essay on a particular topic, or sometimes the topic of their choice. This is intended to be used both as a writing exemplar for administrators to determine the capacity of the prospective student, as well as to genuinely learn something about the individual. After all, diversity is key for many college admissions and if it looks like you have done or will do something exemplary, a college is more likely to admit you, in my estimation.

Enter the below piece from a Maryland referee entering college. She describes most aptly what I am sure many of us have felt in part going through the "Youth Soccer Gauntlet" as I like to call it.

Take a read below, it is well worth it.

Thoughts of a Youth Referee

I am addicted. Sometimes I wish I could quit, but every time I lace up, my blood starts rushing, my palms start sweating, and I can’t think of doing anything else.

That’s what soccer does to me. That’s what soccer does for me. Even when it’s hard and ugly, when I’m the focus of hate and on the receiving end of angry insults from people who are older and who should know better, as a referee, I can not shrink. ...

See the complete story here, at Marylandreferees.com.

More on Beer-Gate from CNN

ABANDON SHIP!!

Bees left baffled by referee's decision

TREVOR Senior was left flabbergasted after his side made the 150-mile round trip to Brislington on Saturday for absolutely nothing.

The Bees arrived at Ironmould Lane just minutes after being told the referee had deemed the pitch too dangerous to play on – a conclusion both teams strongly refute.

Senior told Echosport: “It was an absolute joke. We got the call to say the referee had called the game off when we were just five minutes away from the ground. ...

See the whole story here, from DorsetEcho.

Kicking Back Comments: Abandoning a match due to pitch conditions can be a tricky thing. At the very young ages it can be easy as often the decision is made my other (usually in-town) people. If for some reason it is not, err on the side of safety which is the primary concern for the youth player. Nets that are not anchored, large amounts of standing water, grass that is way to tall (I've seen this one) are all legitimate reasons to not play a match. With youth and with the amateur matches, be accommodating if you can. If there is an adjacent field that is fine, play that one. If there is a broom to sweep water, or kitty litter to soak it up, do it ... if it can be done safely and in the time frame that requires the match to start, or close to it.

Know however that even if a team is traveling a great distance (as this story describes) and the pitch is not ready, ultimately it is not the fault of the referee, but of the home team. Don't be afraid to remind an opposing team's manager of that if your judgement is questioned when abandoning a match due to the pitch conditions.

Even easier than the youth level is the professional or international level where the grounds are generally beautiful, and if there are adjustments that need to be made, there is a staff on hand to do so.

That is a beautiful thing.

Don't Get Cute ...

... it will cost you. Just ask Marco Antonio Rodriguez, FIFA referee from Mexico.

Mexican ref Marco Antonio Rodriguez nets a 5 game ban for showboating

Mexico’s FA this week banned referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez for his showboating antics during last season’s Apertura final between Tigres-Santos.

The second leg of the final, held in December 2011, was a complete mess from an officiating standpoint as ref Rodriguez splashed seven yellow cards and three red cards during the 90 minutes. One incident, however, stood out from the rest in the farce. ...

See the whole story here, from 101greatgoals.com.

Kicking Back Comments: Here is the picture:

He's lucky he only got (5) games. The Mexican FA's work may have saved Rodriguez more grief from FIFA. Also, if he was not the Mexican refereeing legend he was, he may not have a badge today.

I admit, it is cute, but there is a time and place, and this was neither.

It's Recertification Time!

It is an exceptionally busy time for the Massachusetts State Referee Committee right now as we enter the time of year for certifying, or re-certifying referees, assessors, instructors, mentors, and assignors. So busy in fact there are approximately 1.5 events per day for the next 9 weeks!!

A complete course listing of what is offered can be found here from the MSRC.

Ever wanted to be a referee?
Now is the time!

Ever wanted to become certified as an assessor, instructor, assigner, or mentor?
Now is the time!

Ever wanted to drag a parent or friend to teach them the LOTG?
Now is the time!

Everybody get where I am going?
Now is the time!

Spring is right around the corner, and now is the time to do the administrative stuff to make ready for it.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Scudamore: Hard to respect FIFA

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore believes it is "very hard to have huge regard for FIFA" after the organisation's difficulties over the past year.

A controversial bidding process for the right to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was beset by allegations of corruption, leading to a long period of soul-searching for president Sepp Blatter.

Former FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam was handed a lifetime ban for bribery in July while Jack Warner, a FIFA vice-president and president of the confederation governing football in North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), resigned from all football activity in June having been charged with the same offence. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of ESPN.

Kicking Back Comments: A reasonable view from Richard. My question is, short of removing Blatter, what can FIFA do to repair its image?

TMT Episode 3: Fitness Part 1 of 5

Download it below, or at right from the iTunes Store.

Carpe Cerveza!! - Says FIFA

This is funny on the surface, but a real issue for FIFA.

Brasil law (not a suggestion or a stadium rule) their LAW, states that no beer, or for that matter alcohol, is to be served at matches. A reason would seem clear that there are security concerns with dealing with a large groups of inebriated fan(atics).

Makes sense, right? Not to FIFA.

Check out this story from Yahoo where FIFA demands, not politely asks, that alcoholic drinks will be part of the World Cup. Look at the quotes from the Secratary General from FIFA, Jerome Valcke, in the linked story.

So Brasil is now being asked to amend its sovereign law to accommodate the money making machine that is FIFA. Amazing b@**$ power FIFA has to alter the very fabric of how a sovereign country does business to line their pocket.

At least they will make money, and keep their FIFA World Cup sponsor Budweiser happy.

By the way, the match schedule is out for WC14, and can be found here (pdf).

Got a question? Be careful of the answer!

Like with many things, you can find an amazing amount of information from the internet. I use it often to find a great amount of "stuff" about a great number of topics.

One should however be very careful in how they approach using this information. For example (and I have personal knowledge of this one), take a look at the Wikipedia article for chicken salad here. Looks good right? Authentic?

It's a spoof from guys that I work with. A complete fabrication.

I can almost hear the Wikipedia police knocking now ...

Same is true about refereeing information. There are lots of sources for information. For example:

AskTheref is an interesting potpourri of questions and answers. Mark Sprenger, Grade 8 referee from CA is the author of the site and does a nice job fielding a wide array of questions, from a wide audience.

The Big Soccer Referee Forum seems to dispense advice as well. Some of which is really good IMHO. Again a wide array of topics (and some inside info at times) to a wide array of folks. Careful here though because even many of the "insiders" get the LOTG or the rumor mill badly wrong.

Absolutely worth reading is You Are The Ref  from The Guardian. Excellent questions, and excellent answers generally from Keith Hackett, arguably one of the best football referees - ever.

We also have Ask A Soccer Referee which is authored by some serious refereeing firepower and is one of the very few official places to get answers to your refereeing questions.

We then get into other blogs of note such as HK Referee who has some truly excellent stuff by way of refereeing analysis and George Cumming blog ... a man who has written the LOTG, not just enforced them.

Then you get to guys like me at Kicking Back who try not to dispense advice, but more to think about why a referee is doing what they are doing. I personally like to challenge perspective with an opinion.

So where does this leave us in the soup of information?

First friends, study the LOTG, Policies and Procedures, and Administrative materials for referees. For those of us involved in US Soccer, look here.

Regarding all the rest, be careful what you chose to use as advice. Punditry is one thing, read that all day long. For me it is an endless source of entertainment to read what other people feel about referees.

For what to implement in your matches however, be very careful to use official information. Much of what you can find online today is not of that quality, or is outdated.

This unofficial information has its place, but is no substitute for the real deal.

Don't Dig In

So here is an excellent lesson that I have learned in the past and was reminded of last night.

If you make a mistake, correct it, and move on.

From my post yesterday "Nice to see it happens everywhere, not just in MLS as some opine", while my underlying point was sound (it was an opinion), I made a second point based on fact that I screwed up on. (Special thanks to Ian for pointing out that MU WON their match 3 - 0, not lost as I had indicated, and again my apologies to Sir Alex.)

I screwed up, and instead of hiding it (real easy in the blogging world) I wanted to openly correct it. Same is true inside the field.

It is fairly easy to not correct a decision (like a throw in) and take it and go on from there. There are (2) reasons why IMHO this correction is critical:

1. It gets the underlying issue correct. For fundamental fairness this is critical. Clearly we are there to administer decisions inside the field the way they are supposed to go. Now I am not talking about making a judgement call, I am talking about the black and white decisions that we all have blown now and again. We need to get these right if at all possible.
2. It demonstrates to the players that we are human. As humans we make mistakes and it's okay to remind players and coaches of that too. Now that said, it is a fine line and one can not certainly go through a match apologizing, but if there is a genuine issue we should.

A note on mechanics here ... if we do reverse a decision (lets saw a throw in) we need to give the teams time to react to the change. As a referee, do not be a "12th man" by allowing a quick throw or kick to give an advantage to the initially wronged team. This restart needs to be ceremonial in nature and may incur additional wrath. It will however be no where near the wrath faced if we sit idly by and allow the mistake to stand in the first place.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

Nice to see it happens everywhere, not just in MLS as some opine

We need refereeing consistency demands Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that there needs to be more consistency in refereeing decisions.

Ferguson was speaking after his side had beaten Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday.

He was unhappy that referee Peter Walton, who awarded United a penalty in the 21st minute which was subsequently saved, did not send off Zat Knight for illegally denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. ...

See the whole story here, from Click-Manchester.com

Kicking Back Comments: So there are two sides to this. First is, a 3-0 loss win is frankly hard to pin on a referee. In a case like this I would think an initial comment would be one of introspection, not blame I think Sir Alex got it mostly right, and was my mistake for thinking otherwise initially as I had the score reversed. Due apologies to Sir Alex (I think my bias just showed through). Second, fairly often we hear a chorus of "experts" saying that what the MLS needs is Eurpoean referees to come in and be more consistent. Well guess what, Sir Alex may want to consider hiring some MLS guys for consistency.

Yes I recognize (now more than before) these two points are in conflict, which is what makes the whole thing funny to me in the first place.