For the longest time, I have been interested in how we miss calls. I’m not talking about judgment calls where there is some disagreement between parties about the veracity of the situation. I’m talking about flat out missing them. I am bringing this up because of the high profile miss in the NFC championship game in New Orleans this past weekend. As most of us probably know, The play occurred in the vicinity of two very experienced officials. Officials who were chosen for the game based on their ratings for an entire season. I’m not here to dwell on that sport, I’m here to talk about it in relation to what we do on a weekly basis. For example, I had a very high-level U-19 men’s match last spring where a foul occurred no more than 5 yards in front of me with my vision unobstructed, and I failed to call it. I thought I saw something completely different. No one else did. In hindsight, I was totally, completely, fully wrong. How does that happen? In my case, the play was coming at me, I was ahead of the ball, looking right at it, not straight line, had a good angle, and I’ve been doing this for 15 years. I totally missed a red card tackle. The coach of the Aggrieved team was beside himself. At the half, my AR2 wanted to know if I had my car keys with me for a quick getaway! So what exactly happened? It’s not as though the Referee on Sunday was unprepared for the play, nor was I in my game. We just failed to call it. Is not calling what we see a judgment play? Or is something different happening? If I had my Play again 99 more times, I would give the foul and toss the tackler. Why is it that I didn’t call it?
The brain likes to make us look really stupid at times. I still can't understand how two NFL officials failed to make that call. It's probably the most mind boggling missed call I've ever seen in a big spot of any sport. At least when the Attwell ghost goal happens you can understand how the ref or AR was fooled by an optical illusion. Or with the Henry handball that maybe the ref didn't have a good angle and the AR was 50 yards away. In this case, there's no illusion or angle issues. They just flat out missed one of the most obvious PI calls you'll ever see. Also, I feel really bad for Vinovich. He had absolutely nothing to do with making that call. As a referee, he's not even supposed to look at that pass. His job is to watch the QB. But he's gonna be connected with this call the rest of his career. It's like an AR making a shocking offside call in the World Cup x 10.
I produced the radio broadcast for this game for the Auburn Network. This is the biggest brain fart I have ever seen. The call on the field, pre-instant replay, was touchdown.
Do a little research on the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Then, if you haven't already seen it, pull up the video of the experiment where they have the subjects carefully watching a bunch of people throwing a ball back and forth while a guy in a gorilla suit walks through the set. Top level referees are highly trained to avoid this sort of thing. Sometimes that just doesn't work. One time, late in an extremely competitive and hard-fought HS boys varsity game, on a play right in front of me I gave a goal kick when apparently everybody else in the stadium -- especially the notable number who came out of the stands to confront me after the keeper's epic kick was collected by his forwards and immediately converted to the tie-breaking goal a second before the final buzzer -- had seen the ball go out over the touchline for a defense throw-in. I still think I saw what I saw, but fortunately there was no video on national TV of that one.
I was going to say being unexpectedly blinded by the stadium lights (which is how I missed clear handing right in front of me in my last HS varsity center last fall).
It doesn't work if you know what's happening (which I tipped in my post). The amazing thing about it is something around, maybe over, 50% of people who watch it don't see the gorilla and don't believe it was there until you replay it for them. Selective attention.
I don’t think this has anything to do with the pointy ball brain freeze—pass interference is exactly what at least one official was supposed to be focused on. The gorilla test shows how easy it is to miss something when focused on something else.
That one is simple. At the moment of the bobble, the ref turns and looks directly at his feet. He missed the bobble entirely.
The NFL one is mind blowing. Not only clear PI, but also helmet to helmet. I’m not saying the league is fixed, but referees know which team winning is better financially for the league. I wonder if that affects them subconsciously.
Yes of course. I meant that just as a particularly striking example of how the brain plays tricks. And sometimes it plays tricks even on the highly trained and motivated, right at the critical moment.
So, "Selective Attention" is the clinical term for my occasional tunnel vision?? I've also noticed how dehydration can mess with my mind and memory.
Yes that. It's why we're coached to broaden our field of view and attention. It's probably why some refs (like me) recognize certain types of fouls more readily than others, upper body vs. lower, for example. Among other things.
And so does the exhaustion. Which is one of the reasons we see players (and referees) have brain farts at the end of games.
And I think this one is an example of the gorilla effect: the official is so focused on the feet that he loses the forest for the tree.
I feel when it's happening, the trick is figuring out "how" to broaden it again. Quickly. A 70 yr old ref/friend noticed it when we did local travel friendlies vs. our HS games together... "It's many of the same players, same crap, heck even the same field... The difference is you can get a bit uptight when the game counts. Clear your head, trust yourself and you'll be fine." Yup. It's nerves, watching too close for a particular foul, other mental clutter, etc... my own mind getting in the way. Since joining the HS chapter, I'm hoping for some more coaching/mentoring. Felt like I've been on an island since I certified ussf in '14 when the local ref program was already falling apart.
Having worked in the television sports business for a long time, I can very easily say that if the league did care about which team wins for TV ratings and finance , then the Forty Niners wouldn’t be terrible, and the Cowboys would be in the Super Bowl every year.
We played tournament in Las Vegas last weekend. The referees were mostly shipped in from other cities and worked all day. How did I know that? We had a game at 7pm Saturday night, and it was the same referees as our 9am game. i verified with a few of them Saturday night and Sunday night for our last game. Were they making bad calls in the evening? You absolutely bet they were. No way can someone work that long and not have massive fatigue. Then to go out and do it the next day and the next day after that. A tournament that does that should have to list that on their main page. WARNING: Our referees will be working 13 hour days, so their ability to stay sharp will be non-existent in the evening.
I've seen that same problem in club basketball tournaments. One ref even sat down while the ball was in play. It's a great recipe: take skilled players with illusions (or delusions) of scholarships and prima donna coaches, then mix the with under qualified refs who work all day.
I was told by an assignor at a big tournament that the 8am slot of games always has the fewest red cards, and the 6pm games always have the highest. It’s a sliding scale as the day goes on. Everyone’s fatigued, and we have less patience after dealing with it for 12 hours. These are the realities of tournament refereeing.
I once read a study on parole board rulings. There was a clear positive correlation between the likelihood of parole being denied and how long it had been since breakfast and lunch.
I also asst coach/manage a select-level travel girls team (they're U16/17 now) and that's close to the norm for our tourneys. Maybe higher-end events are different. Have explained to parents, fellow coaches and players that they simply cannot be 100% for 6-8 games a day, two days in a row. Period. Since we know that going in, we adapt. And always thank them for officiating. On occasion, post-game, I might mention my other hat and ask about their decision points or considerations on a few situations, not to debate calls but to learn from them (I make that very clear). I've met many, including some States, that were absolutely fantastic about sharing their experience and techniques. They were dead tired yet still took some minutes to help out this grade 8. My late afternoon/evening pre-game huddle talk includes: "Girls, you know the refs have been out here all day in the heat dealing with idiots. DO NOT piss them off - you know I'll agree with them if you do. Now, let's work to [blah blah blah]..."