All Star Game Lacks Any Sparkle

Last month I was asked to work the so-called County All-Star game. I once thought this was an honor believing I was being recognized for my high caliber officiating. After working several of these contest I now know this is not a reward. It is an honor in the sense the association only asks guys who can handle the game. But, after each All-Star game I say I'll never do them again. They are distasteful and simply the poorest representation of what the game of Football is all about. This year was no exception.

I only agreed to work this year's game if we could use NCAA mechanics and use this game as a training exercise. This seemed like a good idea since four of us are CCFOA candidates. All agreed and we decided to use seven-man mechanics.

I worked line judge (I typically work White Hat on JV/Fresh and Umpire on Var) which took a series or two for me to get my eyes back, so to speak. Holding my ground until the ball passed the LOS is not natural. This is not the same mechanic as five-man HS. Eventually, I settled in.

Even more challenging for me was trusting the field judge. Again, I was not used to having this help on passes to my sideline. We had one of those plays where the receiver danced the sideline. I saw feet in, but not the ball. I ruled catch, but the FJ saw the ball was not possessed in the field of play. I should have looked at him before killing the clock. Lesson learned.

The joy of being back on the field and benefits of learning NCAA mechanics were marred in the 2nd half of the game. More than once we spoke with the team captains to get everyone under control and once we stopped the game and brought both head coaches to the center of the field to calm things down.

Thing really got out of hand when we ejected a player for throwing the ball at the opposite team's head coach following a touchdown. Unbelievable.

It all finally came to a head when the benches cleared and there was a big brawl with about 4:00 remaining in the 4th. We tried for a good two minutes to get things under control. We'd get it stopped, then it would start-up again.

We finally ran off the field when fans entered the playing field. We were already being heckled and the losing side was looking for an excuse to take it out on us. When the cops came on the field, then I knew our jurisdiction was finally over.

The real problem with these games is the organizers split the teams into East and West teams. During the regular season we have gang problems, cultural issues (read - the 'haves' and the 'have nots') with the East and West teams. Get a clue. This is a charity game. Mix the teams up. Who give a crap about where the GPS location the school is on the map. They all wear the helmets from their respective school. People come to the game to see the players one last time, not the "team".