We all know that based from the NFL and in other professional sports leagues that the refs sometimes make bad calls out of either spite, legitimate mistakes, or just plain ineptitude. Here is one such call that influenced one of our games this season that, had it not been called, would have led to our season being completely different. During the first game against the Silverbacks on the road, we were down by 7 and driving greatly down the field to tie the game and keep up with our rival ASFC team. However, the "refs" called us for a bad false start and an invisible unnecessary roughness call on back to back plays that unfortunately stalled our drive and led to us losing the game by 14 as we had to pass to catch back up which led to us throwing a dam-breaking interception that hurt our momentum not only in the game but our momentum in the season, being part of the reason that led us to this moment in time.
Since the founding of the young franchise, one of the mainstays of the Sarasota Sailfish has been its solid defense. With pro-bowl players at all positions from the defensive line to the secondary, the defensive unit has been dubbed “Blue Crush” for how it chews up offenses that try to drive against it. And Blue Crush typically plays a clean game, with many veterans being role models for penalty-free coverage. And while, like any team, players may be flagged hear of there for being overly aggressive at the line of scrimmage (offsides or neutral zone infraction) or for playing a bit too tight on the receiver (defensive holding or the occasional pass interference), the team is known for avoiding the “nasty” penalties such as roughing the passer, face mask, and other unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. So it came as a shock when linebacker Ernest Lover was called for a taunting penalty in the S32 week 4 matchup against Chicago. Ernest, usually one to keep his cool, was furious with the call since the opposing offensive player had started the verbal altercation after gaining a critical first down. Quick thinking and stoic Cuco Clemente had to come over and calm Ernest down, reminding him that referees can’t catch all the and the defense rallied to get the stop. And Ernest was able to play hard and clean the rest of the game, putting up 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 1 pass defended in the team’s 33-10 away victory.
Spicy Ron makes a point to stay as disciplined as possible on the field. As a penalty on his youth football team would result in lashes equivalent to the penalty yards issued in game. Ron had quite a few scars as a result of this, but he continues to stay disciplined and avoid penalties whenever possible.
So when a ref gets a bad call, Ron makes a point to find the ref after the game, and break his kneecaps. Ron would do this for years, stemming back to the volunteer referees in his youth football game. He’d find the ref that made a bad call, and beat them senseless in front of whatever child played in the league for that ref as an example. If Ron must suffer as a result of his idiocy, then all refs must suffer for their own incompetence. For otherwise, there would be no balance in the universe.
Oh man, let me tell you about how the referees just had it out for the Baltimore Hawks in our recent bout against the New York Silverbacks. So, after a very difficult 3rd quarter, we were on our way to getting back into it, had just scored a long TD. We go for the 2 point conversion to tie it up, and the refs call Dante short. I’m dead convinced he broke the plane and that was a successful conversion, but refs had other ideas. Now, all of sudden we’re 2 points back. But, that’s far from out of it with 12 minutes and 50 seconds left in the game. Next step is a big defensive stop. Howitzer misses his target on first down, what do the refs do? Throw up the flag after the pass is missed and call a penalty that should be immediate. Neutral zone infraction on Sheriff Woody. Do you understand how insane it is to call that on someone who is 15 inches tall? How was his foot across the line? The line is bigger than his foot is. Little bit later in the same drive, Woody made a tackle to hold the receiver to 8 yards and not give up a first down. Flag goes up. Defensive pass interference on a different defender. Who was guarding someone who wasn’t even targeted. How does that even happen? 10 yard penalty, automatic first down. From there, NY chewed the clock and sat on the win. Absolute bogus if you ask me.
Being a younger quarterback for the International Simulation Football League can be rough. Refs give veterans the benefit of the doubt where younger quarterbacks will typically not get. A prime example of this is the roughing the passer call. It is a subjective call sometimes that we can question whether or not referees need glasses. Other quarterbacks get these calls, especially Mike Boss Jr, but for Panda McKyle, the refs turn a blind eye or are literally blind. This has happened throughout the season for the young quarterback. But McKyle usually responds to these no calls with a determination to make the other team pay. This is where he’s been slinging the ball for 335 yards a game and throwing touchdowns to his rookie receiving core. It is usually the best response to these bad no calls, keep playing your game. The refs usually should smarten up by that time. And hopefully the league will fire some of them for putting rising superstar quarterbacks at risk.
Albert Ruschmann is a smart player. He plays disciplined and never wants to be the reason his team loses a game. But every now and then, he ends up slipping up and getting flagged. However, there was one time in particular where Albert Ruschmann was not in the wrong, but instead the referee was. It was when the Yeti were in the Ultimus against the San Jose Sabercats before Ruschmann had transitioned over the CB position. As he was sacking the quarterback he was flagged for a facemask. Ruschmann was incredulous as he felt that he got the QB by the shoulderpad, not the facemask. He pleaded with the ref to pick the flag up, but the ref would not budge. Ruschmann was furious, especially since that penalty cost his team 15 yards and put SJS in field goal range. The Yeti unfortunately would go on to lose that game. Ruschmann would eventually forgive himself and the ref, but he certainly would never forget being the unfortunate recipient of this penalty.