David EdwardsNRL Referees - "the troubled loners..."
June 2nd 2008 04:37
Alan Shortall's debut in the NRL as a top grade referee will be remembered for a lifetime. Shortall was villified by the tag-team of Ian Millward and Matthew Elliott following the golden point Penrith victory over Nth Queensland in extra time last Saturday night.
Refereeing an NRL game is a scary thing, and the sheer amount of scrutiny that you come under is astonishing. Not only are the commentators ready to judge your every movement, but the coaches are there to offer their opinion, as are the players, and columnists who have the benefit of hindsight are scathing in their critiques.
What makes a young boy decide to be an NRL referee? Whilst i have been to many an NRL game, i have never seen a fan hold aloft a banner with a referees name on it. While i appreciated the decisive on-field policing of Bill Harrigan, i never once thought to construct a pun-filled sign indicating my respect for him. So it is clearly not the fan adulation that lures these men to the position, although Harrigan certainly was the glamour-boy of the ARL for many years.
I don't think refereeing is any sort of status symbol either. While men have always strived to make their job seem as interesting as possible in order to pick up chicks, trying to mentally envisage Sean Hampstead chatting up ladies in a bar with the pick-up line - "I keep the ruck clean baby, and you should see my 10 metres.." somehow doesn't seem right. With the notable exception of Paul (sex in a closet) McBlane, such innuendo is usually reserved for the stars of the game, leaving the referees to seem about as appealing to the opposite sex as a date with Josef Fritzl. However, you know what they say about guys that keep a big 10 metres...
The personal satisfaction must contribute greatly to one's desire to control a football game. To use a freudian analysis, the whistle perhaps represents a phallic symbol (god Freud was a one trick wonder), indicating power and status. Blowing a penality and reprimanding a player can be a subconscious sexual fantasy of power and domination, ergo; commanding the respect of the players could indeed be a homoerotic validation and submission to the greater power.
Obviously the sexual thesis is perhaps an inadequate offering as to why young men take up refereeing, however another (more probable) reason could be that they are simply living out a childhood fantasy. Assuming all have played rugby league at some stage of their lives, all have probably realised they will never be good enough to play at the top level - and therefore decided to pursue officialdom.
Nevertheless, the analysis that referees receive is far greater than the actual players, and personally i think coaches should stay out of the debate on referees performance. Having a go at a hapless referee is a cheap shot as they are on a hiding to nothing. Until the NRL employs a bunch of robots to control the game, we will be stuck with human referees who will continue to make human errors. Anyone who knows me knows that i hate to agree with Phil Gould on anything, but i could even do without the video referee.
SportingMind urges anyone out there to go to the next NRL game dressed as a referee, complete with a supporters sign, hopefully containing a pun on a referees name. Think "Get Smart - Maxwell" for Jared Maxwell, or perhaps even a nonsensical "Mander Panda" would help the poor guys feel wanted and recognised, in an age of critique and over-analysis.
NRL referees are the bullied, disrespected, troubled loners on the NRL campus. Let's pay them some respect before they get jealous of all the rich, popular NRL jocks and go all Cho Seung-Hui on us, Virginia Tech style. It could happen?
Refereeing an NRL game is a scary thing, and the sheer amount of scrutiny that you come under is astonishing. Not only are the commentators ready to judge your every movement, but the coaches are there to offer their opinion, as are the players, and columnists who have the benefit of hindsight are scathing in their critiques.
What makes a young boy decide to be an NRL referee? Whilst i have been to many an NRL game, i have never seen a fan hold aloft a banner with a referees name on it. While i appreciated the decisive on-field policing of Bill Harrigan, i never once thought to construct a pun-filled sign indicating my respect for him. So it is clearly not the fan adulation that lures these men to the position, although Harrigan certainly was the glamour-boy of the ARL for many years.
I don't think refereeing is any sort of status symbol either. While men have always strived to make their job seem as interesting as possible in order to pick up chicks, trying to mentally envisage Sean Hampstead chatting up ladies in a bar with the pick-up line - "I keep the ruck clean baby, and you should see my 10 metres.." somehow doesn't seem right. With the notable exception of Paul (sex in a closet) McBlane, such innuendo is usually reserved for the stars of the game, leaving the referees to seem about as appealing to the opposite sex as a date with Josef Fritzl. However, you know what they say about guys that keep a big 10 metres...
The personal satisfaction must contribute greatly to one's desire to control a football game. To use a freudian analysis, the whistle perhaps represents a phallic symbol (god Freud was a one trick wonder), indicating power and status. Blowing a penality and reprimanding a player can be a subconscious sexual fantasy of power and domination, ergo; commanding the respect of the players could indeed be a homoerotic validation and submission to the greater power.
Obviously the sexual thesis is perhaps an inadequate offering as to why young men take up refereeing, however another (more probable) reason could be that they are simply living out a childhood fantasy. Assuming all have played rugby league at some stage of their lives, all have probably realised they will never be good enough to play at the top level - and therefore decided to pursue officialdom.
Nevertheless, the analysis that referees receive is far greater than the actual players, and personally i think coaches should stay out of the debate on referees performance. Having a go at a hapless referee is a cheap shot as they are on a hiding to nothing. Until the NRL employs a bunch of robots to control the game, we will be stuck with human referees who will continue to make human errors. Anyone who knows me knows that i hate to agree with Phil Gould on anything, but i could even do without the video referee.
SportingMind urges anyone out there to go to the next NRL game dressed as a referee, complete with a supporters sign, hopefully containing a pun on a referees name. Think "Get Smart - Maxwell" for Jared Maxwell, or perhaps even a nonsensical "Mander Panda" would help the poor guys feel wanted and recognised, in an age of critique and over-analysis.
NRL referees are the bullied, disrespected, troubled loners on the NRL campus. Let's pay them some respect before they get jealous of all the rich, popular NRL jocks and go all Cho Seung-Hui on us, Virginia Tech style. It could happen?
| 39 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Subscribe to this blog
