How does fan abuse, constant questioning from coaches and a small salary sound to you?
By Vicki Hall,
Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON – Glenn Johnson and Bud Steen live behind a black and white code of silence.
As CFL referees, they hear constant complaints about the job performance. They read the attacks over coffee and toast in their morning newspapers. They get in the car and hear people whine about their work on the radio. They turn on the television at night and see more of the same.
And sometimes, if they’re feeling particularly masoch*stic, they surf the fan websites and read what the CFL diehards think of the latest call or non-call by the men in pinstripes.
Through it all, they remain silent. They talk publicly less often than the Queen or gagged members of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet.
On the rare occasion, they’re granted permission to speak to the masses. And this is one of those rare instances.
And Johnson, for one, would like to take this opportunity to politely clear a few things up.
“I think people sometimes think referees have biases either against teams or for teams,” Johnson said last week in a break before the Saskatchewan game against Montreal. “We go into the chat rooms and on the websites. We look to see the feedback.
“I think fans need to understand that we’re fans of the game as well. We don’t have biases. We go out there every day and try to do the best job we can. And yes, we are going to make mistakes. We try to minimize them by training, preparation and being in the right spot. But when we make a mistake, it’s never with a bias.”
In his other life, Johnson is a partner in a Toronto software company. Steen works as a lawyer in Edmonton. Neither are getting rich off their part-time job in the CFL. In fact, officials receive between $550 and $850 per game.
“The most I’ve ever made in a year was $15,000,” said Steen, who has worked in the CFL for 26 years.”I’m losing money by doing this.”
So why does he do it? Let’s face it, referees in any sport will never win popularity contests. They’ve heard every nasty insult that exists in the English language. In Canada, they’re cussed out in both official languages.
But Steen, 55, and Johnson, 45, figure the constant verbal assault is worth it. They get to ref football at the highest level in Canada. They’ve worked with stars like Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia. They watch the game like the rest of us.
And they love it, too.
“We get a big charge out of doing what we do,” Steen said. “We’re faceless, nameless individuals who are there to further the game. It’s not about us. People don’t pay money to see Bud Steen officiating. They come to see Ricky Ray, or Troy Davis or Sean Fleming. And we love being part of the sport at this level.”
CFL officials are evaluated on every play in every game. The ref with the highest marks at the end of the year gets to work the Grey Cup. Johnson earned the right to officiate the 2005 Grey Cup in Vancouver.
He ranks that game — a 38-35 Edmonton win in double overtime over Montreal — and the 2004 B.C. victory over Saskatchewan in the Western Final as two of his all-time thrills.
There were only eight flags thrown in the Western Final and 13 in the Grey Cup. Not surprisingly, both games are considered CFL classics.
“The less number of fouls, the better the game is going to be,” Johnson said. “But it’s a shared responsibility. If the players go offside, we have to call them. There are many, many technical fouls that require zero judgment from us.
“If you’re offside, you’re offside. If a guy moves early, it’s procedure. If a guy is in the five-yard zone on a return, it’s no yards. I’d love to see less penalties. If we can shorten the amount of time the games take and call less penalties, that’s better for everybody.”
The average CFL fan knows the name of a handful of CFL referees including Steen, Johnson and Jake Ireland. But almost no one knows the identity of the other six zebras on the field.
Referees are only responsible for about five calls a game, but they’re considered the bad guys when things go wrong.
“To be honest with you, being a referee is one of the most boring of the seven positions,” said George Black, the CFL’s director of officiating. “You’re totally focused on him. He throws the ball away, and you can’t afford to look, because somebody is going to take him to the ground. So you’re focused on a fairly narrow set of responsibilities.
“But they’re the face of things. They’re the ones who make the announcements and do the signals, so everyone sees them.”
For better or for worse.
“People pay their money, so they’re entitled to yell,” Steen said. “It doesn’t matter to me.”
Fans can say whatever they want. Players and coaches, however, face some limits.
To Johnson, the rational behind a flag for objectionable comment is fairly simple.
“When they get personal, that’s a penalty or if they’re blatantly grandstanding and show up the referee uniform, that’s a penalty as well.
“If a guy says to me, ‘That was a f-ing, sh#@ call,’ that’s way different than saying, ‘Glenn you’re a f-ing sh#@$* referee.’ “
The perfect game — to Steen and Johnson — is one with few flags and no botched calls. Even if they rarely speak in their own defence, officials are people. They don’t like screwing up. In the CFL, they’re fined, suspended or even fired if mistakes become a habit.
But pride and a sense of justice — not job security — is the major motivating factor, Johnson said.
“The last thing I want to do is to make an incorrect call that determines the outcome of a game,” he said. “I’ve got to live with that and sleep with that.”
And that’s why he supports video replay — even if the new technology has caused confusion at times.
“If we can use replay to correct mistakes, then I’m all for it,” he said. “We want to get things right.”
No matter how much coaches, players and fans may think otherwise.
—
Q and A with CFL director of officiating George Black and referees Bud Steen and Glenn Johnson
Q: What do you think of video replay?
A: Johnson: I like it. My reactions before we did it were pretty skeptical. I wasn’t sure it would be as helpful as it has been. But now, I would say I’m pretty positive on it. At the end of the day, we just want to get it right. And we just can’t physically get every single call right, every single time. So I think, overall, it’s been very positive and very helpful.
Q: Overall, how would you describe the quality of officiating in the CFL this year?
A: Black: I would say that overall it’s been a better-than-average season in terms of their performance. We continue to make errors. We haven’t made the big mistake lately. Two years ago in a game between Calgary and B.C., we missed the on-side man on an on-side kick. We haven’t had one of those that’s blown up completely. At the same time, we’ve had some controversy.
Q: What are you doing to get some younger blood into the refereeing corps?
A: Black: This year, we injected two new fellows into the referee spot during the summer time: Kim Murphy, from Hamilton, and Murray Clarke, from Victoria. Some of the guys are getting long in the tooth, and they’re on the cusp of retirement. So I’ve got to have young people ready at the other end to come in who have some experience at the referee position.
Q: It seems like there are more flags flying in the CFL this year. Is that the case?
A: Black: Penalty averages are up a little bit. Last year we finished the season with an average of 20.9 fouls per game. As of two weekends ago, we were at 22.1.
Q: What’s the camaraderie like in the officiating fraternity?
A: Steen: The collegiality of the officiating corps is so special. I’ve got great friends from coast to coast. These are guys where we’ve been in some really messy spots together. And I know that we all think alike and we’re all in it for the same reason.
Q: Any wild weather stories?
A: Steen: We had a really wild one in Shreveport. There was a tale of a tornado coming through the area. It rained so hard that when you ran, you felt you had to move your arms like an Australian crow. Shreveport was lined up for a punt and this Toronto guy was about to hit the punter. Rather than get hit, the guy tossed the ball away and the Toronto guy ran it in for a touchdown. So we kicked the convert, and the field judge said to me, “Bud, I couldn’t even see the ball.” I said, “Lucky, I did. It went through. But we’re done. Let’s go in and sit down for a while. This is dangerous.” So I went over to Forrest Gregg, the coach of Shreveport. And he said, “That’s what’s wrong with you Canadians. Down here, we play in this.”
Q: You guys face fines and suspensions if you make mistakes. In the NFL, they make that public. Should they do the same here?
A: Johnson: This is not our main profession, so that changes things. In the NHL and the NBA, I think they should make that stuff public, because that’s their profession. For us, it’s not our primary profession, so it could have a broader reaching impact on our lives.
Q: Do you get rich from officiating?
A: Johnson: The scrutiny that we’re under in terms of evaluation is high. We definitely do not do this for the money. By the end of the season, the money pays for a nice winter holiday for the family, and that’s about it.
—
Officially speaking … here are the duties of CFL referees, officials
Back Judge:
Lines up about 20 yards off the line of scrimmage and takes responsibility for the wide receiver on his side of the field. In zone coverage, he takes half of the field and watches his specific area on forward pass plays.
Umpire:
Most dangerous position on the field for an official as he stands right behind the defensive line and can pay the price, especially on crossing patterns. The umpire is responsible for procedure by the interior linemen at the snap of the ball and then he governs the centre, the right guard and the right tackle when they’re blocking. The umpire basically supervises the line play.
Field Judge:
Another dangerous position in the middle of the action. The field judge serves as the centre fielder for the zebras. He’s responsible for the third and fourth receivers and giving the officials an inside-out look on forward pass plays.
Side Judge:
Similar to back judge, he lines up about 20 yards off the line and his main responsibility is for the wide receiver on his side of the field. In zone coverage, he takes his half of the field and watches his area on forward pass plays.
Head Linesman:
Similar duties to that of the line judge, watching the line of scrimmage for offside and procedure calls. After the ball is snapped, he covers the second receiver in from his sideline for the first eight to 10 yards. He also monitors the ball carrier when he is running on the outside towards them. He, too, is responsible for spotting the ball on run plays.
Referee:
Takes charge of the quarterback and looks through to the left guard and the left tackle. His primary responsibility
is to watch the quarterback and penalize any and all late hits and intentional grounding infractions.
Line Judge:
At the snap of the ball, he stands on the line of scrimmage. Responsible for offside by the defence, procedure and early movement by the offence. After the ball is snapped, he covers the second receiver in from his sideline for the first eight to 10 yards. He also monitors the ball carrier when he is running on the outside towards them. He is often responsible for spotting the ball on run plays.
