In Or Out

 I tried very hard to recall an image of a referee or an umpire wearing glasses. 

I could not. 

Which makes sense, since that would be the first place most folks would go to when it comes time to pitch a fuss about the ruling one of these third party participants in sports events would head. The length of time between proper eye exams would probably be on the forefront of most everyone's mind who felt that their team caught the ball in bounds would be an immediate topic of discussion. 

Which is not the way that most sports fans are choosing to adjudicate the adjudicators. In the early part of the twenty-first century, we are gifted with super-slo-mo, and cameras from every conceivable angle. This includes sky-cams, pylon-cams, and every smart phone in the stadium. If a question arises, there is video evidence to support or deny the claims being made in a split second. It has become the job of referees of all stripes to make the correct choice. The National Football and Basketball leagues have instituted along with Major League Baseball instant replay review of decisions that are too difficult to make on the fly, if you'll pardon the pun as well as the one before about stripes. 

You might think that this would end the arguments. Alas, this is not the case. If anything, the chip worn by many fans on their collective shoulders only increases in weight and dimension as endless loops of video are repeated before, during and after commercial breaks. The only possible reason for many of these tortured souls is that the impartial group on the field sent to keep things from getting too contentious are somehow subject to human frailties or favoritism. The lustiest of boos are saved for those fortunate enough to be running across the grass with their only mission to assure a fair outcome. Getting a whole office full of referees in New York involved has not made any positive inroads. Broadcasters have recently taken it upon themselves to insist that the thankless job of being in control of the rule book remains that way. 

So I'm going to make a radical suggestion. Go with the elementary school solution. Rock, Paper, Scissors. Was he in bounds? Rock beats scissors. Was it a five second violation? Scissors beats paper. Was it a home run? Paper beats rock.

Or we can surrender to one of the last bastions of humanity left in professional sports and allow the strengths and frailties of the officials monitoring the game to be the fulcrum. 

Now back to the game.