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NO INSTANT REPLAY!
by Dale Brown, 2009

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT Facebook.com/AuthorDaleBrown, 22 October 2009

I was listening to the American League Championship Series commentator discussions on Fox this afternoon, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing...

...Tim McCarver and Joe Buck actually ADVOCATING the instant replay for certain plays in baseball! SAY IT AIN'T SO, JOE!

I rarely watch American football any more for one reason: the delays and interruptions caused by the video replay challenge makes the game drag on. A game that should take a maximum of 90 minutes to play can sometimes take twice as long, or more, because of video reviews.

I am an American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) Intermediate referee, and I've done some instructing. The rule book of international football is about 50 pages long--that's a fraction of American football, baseball, or basketball. As a soccer referee, you learn the ultimate rule: "In the opinion of the referee..." There is ONE referee and ONE whistle in soccer, and the referee's decision stands. Dissent is not permitted. Arguing calls can lead to misconduct calls against players or dismissal or game termination if done by coaches or unruly spectators. There are two assistant referees in soccer (with flags, not whistles), but they are advisers only.

What I am struck by in football is the huge percentage of calls under video replay review that stand. If the percentage is so high, why not do away with the instant replay altogether?

I am not saying that I am perfect as a referee. My instructor and mentor Wayne once said that if he was correct 70% in a game that he was doing good, and I agree. But referees are as much a part of the game of soccer as the players, coaches, the field, and even the weather. Not every player executes a perfect play; neither do the referees execute a perfect call every time. But it's just part of the game.

Soccer is 45 minutes of non-stop action. That's its appeal--and its curse. Non-stop action is great for die-hard spectators but bad for advertisers and fans who need to get up and take a pee or get another beer--there's virtually no place to put commercial breaks in soccer. That's why you see very clever advertising in international football--not just on players' jerseys but outside the touch line and throughout the stadium. Clever computer graphics can put ads and commercials anywhere these days, but soccer still hasn't caught on in the USA.

Technology is great, but not in sports. Let's keep the instant replay out of sports. The referees are not your enemy. They are as much a part of the game as the players.

Back to the Yankees-Angels game!

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