Colonel Jessup on Football
Son, we live in a world that requires officiating, and those games need to be managed and accounted for by people known as Officials. Who’s going to do it … You?
I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for the Losing Team and you curse the Officials. You have that luxury; you have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That the loss by your team, while tragic, was probably the result of poor coaching or superior play by the Winning Team, and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, helps promote sportsmanship and possibly rules education.
You don’t want the Truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at coaching staff meetings, you WANT officials; you NEED officials!
We use words like Neutral Zone, Snap, Impetus, Posession…we use these words as the backbone of a life spent officiating and educating generations of student athletes, yet you use them as a punch line!
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a Coach or his Assistant Coach who uses the very same rules that I provide game in and game out …AND THEN QUESTIONS THE MANNER IN WHICH I PROVIDE IT! I would rather you just thanked me and went on your way; otherwise, I suggest you pick up a rule book and a striped shirt and assume the position. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you’re entitled to…”
