Replacement Refs Say, We Were 'Demonized' By Players, Public

For the replacement officials themselves, though, the experience of working at the heart of the NFL’s most recent controversy was more nuanced: refereeing football’s highest level of games will never be forgotten, of course, but neither will the frustration that came with becoming a punching bag for bloggers and broadcasters, players and coaches, television animators and late-night talk show hosts, Sam Borden of the New York Times reports..

“My daughter found the ‘Call It Maybe’ video they did of us and showed it to me, and I had to laugh,†said Jeff Sadorus, a former college official who worked as a field judge during the recent lockout of the NFL’s regular officials. “Honestly, sometimes during this whole thing it felt like the national pastime in this country had changed from football to bashing replacement officials.â€

He added: “Everyone wanted perfection, but come on: the last guy who was perfect they nailed to a cross. And he wasn’t even an official.â€

“Working these games was something I’d wanted to do forever,†Sadorus said, “and there were some incredible moments. But there were also parts of this that I don’t think anyone could have expected.â€

“We weren’t there to take anyone’s job; we were there to provide a service,†Sadorus said. “The games were going to get done by someone. It’s the old saying: without officials, it’s just recess.â€

“We worked very, very hard,†Sadorus said. “As demonized as we were, I hope people remember that we are people, too.â€

Source: The Redzone

 

Maybe you got bashed, cos you sucked as a ref?

 

I don't blame these guys. They did a job they were asked to do, even though they were not qualified. People should be pissed at the league for putting them in that position.

 

^this. The league didn't properly train them to start with...combine that with the fact that they have no clue what they were doing and it's a recipe for a disaster...which it was.

 

I'll agree with you but at the same time some of these dudes were straight up incompetent.

 

Agreed. And yet the NFL still put them on the field. 3 times.

 

You're playing the victim too freaking much if you're using words like demonized. You sucked and it wasn't all you fault, we get it. But don't act like you can't understand why people got upset after crap like Monday, that's just dumb.

 

Fixed.

But I agree with all the rest.

 

Dude. Be real. These guys got more freaking bad press than Bin Laden.

:icon_jook:

 

Anyone know how much they were paid?

 

i agree with your first 2 sentences. well stated. however, i do not agree with the last sentence because pensions are a cancer and the league had to get rid of it and, even if someone thinks pensions are fantastic, no one should get 'pissed' about a game they are simply watching for entertainment.

i think i remember reading somewhere that it was about $5k per game, which is quite a bit less than the regular refs but still a decent amount.

 

the real problem is the nfl couldnt get d 1 refs they had to reach and get less qualified people

if sec refs were there and had the preseason to adjust to the rules it would be a different story

 

Weren't those refs warned by the NFLRA that if they worked as replacements they would never work in the NFL again?

Sent from my LG-970h using Tapatalk 2

 

I can hardly wait until the real refs starting screwing up. What will people say then?

 

I don't blame these guys. They did a job they were asked to do, even though they were not qualified. People should be pissed at the league for putting them in that position./.....................................all i can say is if there was no football cuz of the old refs, we would be like "heck them muthafukerz" off with their heads

 

1. Why doing a job, if you ain't qualifed for it anyway?
2. Nobody forced them to go on the field
3. ppl who replace others on a holdout/lockout are buttholes in my eyes

 

Why hire them if they obviously aren't qualified?

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIikqPmbgvI]Somebody call the Wambulance - YouTube[/ame]

Even if for some miracle they didn't suck, people don't like scabs. The Replacements should have known that from the beginning.

If they didn't know their resume didn't qualify them for the NFL, they should have their head examined. Talk about an inflated sense of your worth.

The NFL knew this was going to be a disaster. They were just hoping it wouldn't explode before they squeezed the real refs into an agreement. Just like using replacement players in the late 80s was idiotic, using replacement refs was just as idiotic.

Go back to your day jobs & quit answering the phone/door & stay away from live mics. It's the only way we'll stop making fun of you.