BCRS outbreak on the West Coast!

In case you thought Burke County Referee Syndrome (BCRS) was merely a local threat you should realize that it is part of a larger pandemic. Just this past weekend on the collegiate level there was a flare up of acute BCRS in in the Pacific Northwest when the woeful Washington Huskies lost a heartbreaker to the BYU Cougars.

The video pretty much speaks for itself. Quarterback Jake Locker drove the Huskies 76 yards in 17 plays, capped by his 2-yard plunge to pull Washington within one. But Locker was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after the touchdown; replays showed Locker throwing the ball in the air before jumping with his teammates in the end zone. A penalty was assessed on conversion which effectively negated any thoughts of attempting a winning 2-point conversion. Instead it turned the PAT into a 35-yard field goal attempt. To complete the farce, BYU then managed to block the kick and preserve the victory. Have another look:



The sad part about this whole disgraceful episode is that yes, technically, the official was correct in his call. There is a specific stipulation in the rules concerning, among other things, tossing the ball in the air. So thanks to Rule 9, Section 2, Article 1 of the NCAA rule book, which says throwing the ball high in the air constitutes an unsportsmanlike penalty, the smug jackass who threw the flag felt perfectly justified in imposing himself on the game. Larry Farina, the official in question, decided that he is more important that Jake Locker or any other player, coach or ticket-buying fan in the stadium. Sad...but typical.

"After scoring the touchdown, the player threw the ball into the air and we are required, by rule, to assess a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty," Farina said in a statement given to Washington officials.

"It is a celebration rule that we are required to call. It was not a judgment call."

Required to call...

Or else...what? An extensive audit by the IRS? Internment at Guantanamo? Death by firing squad? It's nonsense. It's from a book of rules, not a book of laws. It's certainly not on a tablet full of commandments. The rules are not written in stone or in blood or in the heavens. It's a game that is incapable of functionig satisfactorily without emotion. I'm sorry but any IDIOT can tell the difference between honest, spontaneous celebration and deliberate taunting. There doesn't need to be a rule for it.

How many times have you heard it said, "If a ref wanted to, hell, he could throw a flag for holding on every play." The same could be said about "interference" by a defensive back. So why isn't a flag thrown on nearly every play? I mean, the rule book says, right? It's called judgment. Let me spell it out for the all the referee-types out there who have difficulty following along: J-U-D-G-M-E-N-T. Give it a try sometime, it won't bite you.

Why can't the real taunters be punished when they actually violate the rule rather than punishing all of us in advance by deliberately draining all the passion and exuberance out of the game? Why should the college game and, increasingly, the high school game, be ruined like the No Fun League has been ruined?

The kids don't make millions like the professionals do. Now they can't even have fun playing the game. Which means we the fans (whose money makes this whole thing work, by the way) get a diminished product for our hard-earned dollars. Once again, football officials and the shadowy "rules committees" that give them cover, keep thinking the game is about them. Instead of letting the players decide the game and giving the fans the opportunity to see an overtime finish, some official is feeling all important now because he applied the rules.

Because you know...rules ARE rules.

Newsflash: Nobody pays to see the officials throw flags (despite what the officials may tell themselves while checking out their potbellies in the mirror). Nobody appreciates the "sacrifices" made by the knuckleheads on the "rules committee" who are not interested in having to do the hard work of actually, you know, applying good judgment to a situation. Nope, better to write a rule about it and then hide behind it when stupid and needless controversies erupt.

All of this leads me to wonder if BCRS was cooked up in a lab somewhere and then unleashed on the unsuspecting sports world during the Cold War era. Perhaps some bizarre experiment gone horribly wrong? Gosh, what if there really is an evil genius lurking in some evil underground lair, plotting against the players, coaches and fans of this country? And if the evil mastermind does exist then that would help explain why the officials have no choice but to throw as many flags as possible.

Remember the words of Larry Farina: "It is a celebration rule that we are required to call. It was not a judgment call." I shudder to think about what would have happened to good ol' Larry if he hadn't thrown that flag. The Organization does not tolerate failure...