Pueblo chieftain., 1921-10-24
FOOTBALL EXPERT WRITES AR1lCLE0N
GAME FROM VIEWPOINT OF OFFICIAL

the time No man can But the Of
ficial must be fairly capable in hand
ling coaches and players He must not
give the appearance of quaSrelling with
those for whom he is working. AS for
the crowd present, he must ignore 1t,
as far as his immediate work is con-
serned. As long as the crowd does not
interfere with the game itself, don't
give it any attention. Certainly there
Is no time to play to the grandstand,
II the game is at all worth while. II
the official has a personality that
naturally antagonizes people. trouble
Is in store for him. He must inspire
confidence. must be able to make play
crs and coaches feel that he knows the
rules. is honest, and is fearless
Coaches have done much during the
past few years to case the burden of
the official. The time was when
coaches were prone to win at any cost.
That day is fast disappearing. Years
ago. the coach-sometimes the captain
felt II his duty tc scare the official
into favoring his side. But, today. the
average coach expects no more than
what is right. The coach should be
given due consideration at the Nropcr
time. II he has a complaint or sugges-
ton that is within reason. But the
referee and umpire should assume tho
Deiltl iudt iHty are running inc game
out there ON the field" II an official
has been secured for game he should
be made to feel that he * in charge.
Should his work fail to satisfy, then
don't hire him again. The real mis-
take, in such a case. is i'm the selection.
The athletic relation between schools
in this state IL, on the whole, a very
friendly ono. II has not always been
30. There have been times when some
schools down the alley did not love
each other very much. So has IL been
at times between schools OF the San
Luis Valley and some other places not
SO very far away. ! now venture a
statement that may call forth objec-
lions. When unpleasant relations arise
between schools in athletics. believe
that the spectator tstudent body IL you
please. not the player. is usually the
cause. l have often felt that-given
fairly good officials. and reasonable
coaches,--thc game itself can be
handled all right. True. some players
sometimes forget that they are gentle
men first and players in the second
place. but n situation of this kind can
be far better settled by the officials
and players on the field. than by the
students rushing out What can they
do? Nothing. They only add fuel to
the fire. More and moro must the cry
go out to those on the side lines: Keep
oii tHe ileiu Keep OH inc floOr. You
paid to sec what happens. not to take
II part II officials. coaches, and play
crs can't handle a game, then certainly
the crowd can't. Look up and down
the valley: scan the past history of
college and school games all over the
country. and you will find that where
athletic relations have been called off.
1t has usually been because of the
spectators. There are two schools in
this city that formerly found It real
task to hold their annual games with
out H clash. Because OF the players?
No. Because OF those who belong to
the student body. Yell for your team:
believe in your boys; but let them do
eide the contest. You may not like tn.
official very fcw do): YOU may not
like the way that oil guard pulled our
guards hair but let those on the field
decide the matter. But. | remarked
above that the relation between schools
of this state is now good. Those who
have the very best at heart for the |
school gamcs say: Let this condition
continue" When schools can't have
games in good friendly hostility, thcn
they should hold their contests by cor
respondcnce.
believe that athletic contests be-
tween schools and colleges are well |
worth while. They s,rvc as n very
natural outlet for the young man |
energy. They tend to unite the student |
In one common cause. The criticism |
that boys are in school for scholastic |
trimming. rather than for football and |
other games is we'll made. This criti-
cism is just, providing the school in /
question is lax in it's standaIa Of