On the TunneySide of Sports April 20, 2020 #792 Up next… Preparation and Courage!
After further review… At approximately 12:25 PM on Sunday, January 9, 1977, I was pacing the floor when a woman approached and asked if I was the referee for today’s game? Kickoff at 1:00 PM. We were just off the playing field of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. I had been in that stadium many times before, starting when I accompanied my dad as he officiated high school and junior college games there. On more than one of those games, Pasadena Junior College had a player (#28 I believe) named Jackie Robinson. (I write this April 15, 2020, 73 years after JRR broke into Major League Baseball) Further, I had played college football on that same field as well as having refereed high school, and college games there.
I was about to walk onto that field with 103,000 fans and an NBC broadcast team of Curt Gowdy and Don Meredith as well as Vicki Carr who was to sing “America the Beautiful” in place of our National Anthem awaiting. After I did identify myself as the referee for Super Bowl XI to be played between the Oakland Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings, the lady then asked, “Are you nervous?” “No, I answered, I’m never nervous!” “Really, she said, then what are you doing in the ladies’ room?”
I was not nervous, but certainly had great anticipation for what was about to take place. I recall that incident since all of us anticipate what we are facing with the COVID-19 Pandemic. As I prepared for Super Bowl XI, it was an honest preparation that left me with confidence for what I was about to face that Sunday afternoon.
The question now is, how confident are we with our preparation for what we face in this pandemic? Do we follow the suggested guidelines of consistent hand washing, safe distancing (6 feet), using face masks, and stay-at-home procedures? Or do we mull through ignoring those guidelines? It can happen in anything we perform on a regular basis.
The courage one faces in the realm of officiating is one of self-confidence. It’s that same belief we need to sustain during this never-before-experience we are now facing. There are times in every game where a referee, player or coach may let down their guard (that is a happening, not a position). That is when trouble often occurs.
Will you maintain all that is necessary to be safe during this pandemic?
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