You may have noticed I have not posted anything for several weeks. I'm still in the process of looking for work, and as some of you know, looking for work can be a full time job. I have continued to work football games and have several interesting items to talk about.
No Contest:
For the first time in twelve seasons I was part of a game that was postponed due to unfit field conditions. But it took us two hours before we pulled the plug.
Let's start at the beginning. Rule 11-1 states: The officials' jurisdiction begins 60 minutes before the scheduled kickoff and ends when the referee declares the score final. The referee declares the score final by raising the ball over his head after the game clock hits 00:00. In fact, the referee does this at the end of each quarter declaring the quarter has officially ended.
Back to the officials' jurisdiction -- each Saturday, we literally walk on to the field 60 minutes before the game starts and assume authority over the game. We can penalize players or teams even though game play has not actually started.
Each of us have specific tasks to perform during this period of time. One of these tasks is to check the football field and ensure it is fit for play. Since most playing surfaces are now turf fields we no longer have the same concerns we did with grass fields. The issue during this night's contests was not related to the field itself, but rather the lights. Two of the six banks of light would not stay lit. Most of the home sideline and the entire south endzone was dark. Now what?
As a crew we agreed this situation the game should be postponed until this could be resolved. The sun was already setting, so we needed a plan 'B'. We met with site administration and came-up with the idea of getting portable lights brought in. At this time is was 6:15PM and kick-off was in another 45 minutes.
At 6:57 (when we do the coin toss) we still did not have a solution for the lights. We decided to do the coin-toss and drag this out as long as possible. The visitors won and deferred. We then brought the coaches together to discuss the situation. They both wanted the game to be played, but agreed the lights needed to be working. We added 30 minutes to game clock and waited. Game administration shut the gate and did not allow anyone else into the stadium. The fans were pretty pissed at us, questioning what the big deal was. So it's a little dark, how could this be dangerous?
Less light on the field is not a hazard, per se, but it does, according to rule 1-2-9-b bring into account where the referee may require any improvement in the field necessary for proper and safe game administration. Coaches already complain we can't see fouls, how can I possibly do my job effectively when it is dark?
But honestly, the real issue was liability. All it would take is some kid to get hurt during the game and some lawyer would find out the field conditions were not fit for play. "Mr Official, can you please explain to the jury how you planned on protecting my client from injury when you cannot see properly?" Let's not go there.
Our primary job as officials is to ensure the safety of the players, so there' was no way we are going to let a game occur on an 'improper' field.
The 30 minuted burned off and we still did not have a solution, so we added another 30 minutes. The fans in the crowd were not happy. We even made attempts to contact the commissioner so we could get a plan 'C'. We could not reach him.
After 60 minutes game administration still did not have a final solution, but they did reach someone who felt they could help. We added another 30 minutes. It's now somewhere around 8:15PM. Fans are unhappy, people are still standing outside the gate getting angry, and now game administration has a big problem. Money.
Does he refund everyone's money? Teams use the gate fees to pay for the game. Who is paying for the cops, and medical, our game fees if he has to refund the gate? The 'home' rents this facility since they do not have their own field. The visiting coach said they spent $1,000 just for the buses. If the game has to be rescheduled, when would it be played? We even talked about playing the game on Sunday, but all the fields in the area already had Soccer or pee-wee football games scheduled.
Canceling a game is not a trivial thing. This was a conference game and there were potential bowl game considerations. We did not take this lightly.
Player safety is paramount, so when game administration told us lights could be here by 11:00PM we all agreed this game was not going to be played. Neither coach wanted his players in the field at 2:00AM and there was no guarantee the lights would even work well. And then I think we get into city rules about noise, etc.
The game was never replayed. If you look at the team records the game is not even listed. It doesn't say canceled, postponed... nothing. I suppose this means it is a 'no contest'.
