I have read the Aiello and Machnik comments as well as others
that these have generated. While I appreciate their viewpoints,
I do not entirely agree with them. Both Mike and Dave know far
more about hockey than I do. Both have been closely linked to
the game and usually have very intelligent comments to make. Thus,
one should dismiss their comments lightly.
 
However:
 
Hockey is 90% skill and 90% emotion. Officiating rarely affects the
skill part of the game. But officiating does play a large part in the
emotions of the game. A team that comes to the ice with "jump" can be
demoralized when officials call a sequence of penalties. The difference
between hockey and shinny is the system of rules. When rules are
broken, penalties need to be called. I have no problem with this. Yet
when an official makes a call because he thinks that something (but did
not see what) happened because a player's body is on the ice, the
official is in error and deserves the criticism of the viewers.  In the
WCHA, there are several officials that consistently do this. Officials
that do not call penalties when they observe infractions are just as
bad if not worse. In at least one case this year, an official apologized
to our coach because he observed an off sides and did not call it before
the opposing team scored. I was surprised that he took the effort to
apologize and it is to his credit that he did. (The score counted.)
 
NC$$ hockey is about very talented players, well paid and very good
coaching. Players that do not have the best of skills don't play. Coaches
that don't coach well, recruit well, retain player respect and can't win
are fired. Is it asking too much to have officials that have the same
level of officiating skills?
 
Effective officiating requires the officials to understand the game of
hockey, be fluent with the rule book, be decisive on what did or did not
occur, be even tempered and have the ability to make instant and correct
judgements. It certainly is not easy and it cerrtainly can not be performed
by part time employees. In many respects, the officials need the same skills
that the coaches and players have.
 
With regard to respect for the officials: part of me agrees with Dave and
part of me disagrees. Every person deserves the respect of name and title,
not just officials. When a person loses the respect that this name and
title confers, then that person also deserves the approbation that loss of
respect confers.  Everyone can have a bad day: certainly I have enough
of them. One should not castigate an official for a bad game. Yet when
that same referee continually turns in poor performances, then I believe
that some loss of stature is required. A bad official should not be
tolerated any more than a bad coach or a bad player.
 
Hockey is a fast paced game; fans do not always either understand the rules
or have the best view point for observing the infractions. Thus I am not
very sanguine about fans around me trying to call the game from the
bleachers. That's the officials job and we must have the confidence that
they can do it well. Neither can we coach from the bleachers.  Yet we
all can Monday morning quarterback and discuss what was right or wrong.
Hopefully, we can do that well. Coaching, playing and officiating are all
part of the game. So is Monday morning quarterbacking. Most of us want to
know what and why things happened during our favorite team's last performance.
Sometimes, we make judgements based upon our knowledge. This helps us
to know what to expect of the same team, coaches and officials in the future
and gives us a better perspective of the game. In turn, this helps us to
enjoy the game better. If we as fans make mistakes, it is because we do not
understand the game well enough.
 
Can there be bad fans? You bet. Foul mouths, personal verbal or physical attacks,
and fans that impede the ability of other fans to enjoy the game are bad
fans. We should not tolerate these either and generally do not. Dave lays
the public criticism of an official's call as an indicator of a bad fan. I think
not. Yet if that fan were to demean the official by curses and personal attacks
then he is right.
 
So much for the soap box.
 
Walt Olson
MTU