People need to be controlled. It’s unquestionable. Students need teachers, citizens need a government, and athletes need referees. Without all of these moderators, chaos would ensue. However, with power comes unrest. While we have all seen our fair share of students rebelling against teachers, and citizens protesting against the government, in the past couple years, the men in black and white have faced the wrath of angry players and fans everywhere.
In June of 2010, umpire Jim Joyce called Cleveland’s Jason Donald safe at first, an incorrect decision that robbed Detroit’s Armando Galarraga of a perfect game. In week 3 of this NFL season, the referees ruled the last play of the Monday night game a touchdown, giving the victory to the Seattle Seahawks over the Green Bay Packers, and sparking outrage from millions of sports fans across the country.
With the recurrence of mistakes by these referees, people are demanding that unlimited instant replay be mandated, even in sports that don’t currently have any form of video replay.
Congratulations ‘fans’.
You are single-handedly suggesting a new alternative to referees that would utterly destroy the roots of all the sports that we know and love.
Just think about it. If Jason Donald was called out at first, would we really still be talking about it today? If the Seahawks hadn’t won on a controversial Hail Mary pass as time expired, the football game was sub-par at best. These mistakes make sports what they are, and the general panic over a few bad calls is threatening to change a sport from a free-flowing, intense series of games, to a technological, robotic-like system.
So, fans, you have to recognize that even though you’re upset, in the back of your minds you know that the referee’s mistakes are only bettering the game. It’s time to face the truth. Sports just wouldn’t be fun if they weren’t imperfect.
