"let the players decide the game" short rant

[xubrew]

as the title indicated, this is a rant...

i hate it that after a disfavorable but oftentimes correct call late in the game fans, announcers, and seemingly everyone whines "the refs blew it. let the players decide the game!!"

the accusation here is that the referees, rather than the players, manipulated the final result of the game because they simply made a correct call with time on the clock.

the reality of the situation is that people are saying "LET THE PLAYERS DECIDE THE GAME" but really meaning "LET THE REFEREES IGNORE THE GAME SO WE CAN SEE IT CONTINUE THE WAY WE WANT IT TO WHETHER IT'S FAIR OR NOT."

referees "let the players decide the game" whenever they call the game correctly and fairly. if the game is tied, and a foul is called during a last second shot, and the referees call it, they ARE letting the players decide the game. the defender committed a foul, and the referees called it. the PLAYER decided the game when he committed the foul. if the referees were to ignore that, then they WOULD NOT be letting the players decide the game.


i gotta keep in mind that this is a rant, and that if i continue to rant, the impact will be lost. with that in mind, i've said my piece. if you bitch because your team lost due to a late call that was correct, you lost and you should have lost.

end of rant.

[Benxman]

Got a particular call in mind, xubrew? ;)

[xubrew]

Got a particular call in mind, xubrew? ;)

believe it or not, no. at least, not today. i've always felt that way. i just heard it uttered during the ucla vs kansas game the other night when the refs correclty called a foul at the end of the game as time was expiring. i then heard a reference to that exact play when i was watching another game today. the commentator said "the refs really need to just let the players decide the game."

it wasn't just that specific call, though. in fact, i was rooting for ucla (for no other reason than they were the underdog), and was wishing they hadn't fouled...but they DID foul, and it should have been called.

most of the time when you hear someone say "let the players decide the game," they're saying it because they know that the correct call would decide the game, and want the correct call ignored.

[DoubleD86]

i just heard it uttered during the ucla vs kansas game the other night when the refs correclty called a foul at the end of the game as time was expiring. i then heard a reference to that exact play when i was watching another game today. the commentator said "the refs really need to just let the players decide the game."

I am sorry but I disagree here. Not necessarily with your sentiment, but with the specifics of this case for sure, and to some extent the broader point. Here is the thing about the UCLA v. Kansas game. That was not much of a foul, if a foul at all. With 10 minutes left in the first half, that is an unpopular ticky tack foul on a loose ball. Fans would not be happy, but they would complain and move on. That is a foul you absolutely do not call at the end of a game to basically decide it. I agree that you call a foul if it happens, but you do not make a borderline, weak foul call that changes the outcome of the game in the last half a second.

A good game to use was the Duke-Indiana Sweet Sixteen game in 2002 (I believe this is the game) where Jay Williams missed a free throw and Boozer (I believe) was absolutely hacked on the rebound. There, you make the call. On a 50-50 ball that may or may not have been a foul like the UCLA/Kansas game, you absolutely do not.

I think in the final seconds of the game, you don't swallow the whistle, but you refrain from making that borderline call that could affect the immediate outcome.

[xubrew]

I am sorry but I disagree here. Not necessarily with your sentiment, but with the specifics of this case for sure, and to some extent the broader point. Here is the thing about the UCLA v. Kansas game. That was not much of a foul, if a foul at all. With 10 minutes left in the first half, that is an unpopular ticky tack foul on a loose ball. Fans would not be happy, but they would complain and move on. That is a foul you absolutely do not call at the end of a game to basically decide it. I agree that you call a foul if it happens, but you do not make a borderline, weak foul call that changes the outcome of the game in the last half a second.

A good game to use was the Duke-Indiana Sweet Sixteen game in 2002 (I believe this is the game) where Jay Williams missed a free throw and Boozer (I believe) was absolutely hacked on the rebound. There, you make the call. On a 50-50 ball that may or may not have been a foul like the UCLA/Kansas game, you absolutely do not.

I think in the final seconds of the game, you don't swallow the whistle, but you refrain from making that borderline call that could affect the immediate outcome.

much better example.