The Fan Hub

Yeah, so what? The NFL is bringing in replacement officials because negotiations deteriorated with with the Referees Association. Perhaps we won’t get to admire Ed Hochuli’s biceps, but the games won’t be affected that much, right? Wrong. This situation is only going to end poorly, and for the fans no less.

Being an official in any sport is a job with very little thanks and an overabundance of flak. Last year, MLB umpire Jim Joyce was ripped apart by fans and the media alike when he blew the final out of what would have been a perfect game for Armando Galarraga. Ed Hochuli received death threats from angry San Diego Chargers fans back in 2008, when a quick whistle negated what should have been a Jay Cutler fumble in the red zone. In a perfect world there wouldn’t ever be these game-changing bad calls, but the fact of the matter is that referees are human, and even the best of the best make mistakes at times.

If the current officials are the best that the NFL can find and people are complaining, what’s going to happen when College, Canadian, and Arena Football referees are brought in to fill out the ranks of the replacements? The answer is: more fan-angering bad or missed calls, and a decrease in the quality of football games as a whole.

Perhaps even more importantly in the NFL’s case, a failure to find an agreement will lead to relying on amateur officials enforcing the ever important injury prevention issue — yet another example of the NFL’s feigned concern for player safety.

Once again, its all about the money, not the game, not the players, and certainly not the fans.

— Ryan Gilmore