That Was Me

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You know who I'm thinking about a lot lately?

Yeah, the replacement refs.

Can you imagine being publicly ridiculed as you do your job? I'm not talking the brief reprimand that we sometimes get when we screw something up. I'm talking about pants-down-ass-out-embarrassing.

Yeah, I'm thinking of the poor guy who hesitated and then threw his hands up in a touchdown signal. When he sees his buddies now do they point and laugh or just pretend to have missed the game?

"Yeah, that was me," is what the guy is probably saying over and over these days.

The play he blew was dissected more and shown more than some of the 9/11 footage, and the guy seemed like a decent enough guy, didn't he?

He was a grandfatherly looking gent who was drawing a check as a replacement.

Talk about being humiliated.

First off, how would you like to be called a replacement?

Others were probably chanting scab. I'm sure that the poor old dude doesn't have any vacation plans for Wisconsin either.

Poor guy.

I read an article from one of the replacement refs. He talked about being just a regular family man who enjoyed the game. He spoke of not being able to devote enough time to be a real NFL ref because he was doing stuff like raising his family.

"We did a damn good job," the guy said.

I'm sure that life is rough for the guy who blew that call. Can you imagine what his family and friends are saying? Do you think they're trying to explain that "it looked like a touchdown" to me too?

I have always thought about people in a much more grand fashion than just what happens at face value.

I think of Bartman, the guy who messed with the foul ball and cost the Cubs a chance.

I consider Buckner and how he can't possibly live long enough to not hear about the ground ball going through his legs in the '86 series.

We have our own goat here in Buffalo lore: Scott Norwide.

"When you drop your wrench at work it isn't on television," the one replacement ref said.

Poor guy.

I hope he finds peace.

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