To start things off, this post is not meant to disparage the referees in the 92nd Street Y league or to find a scapegoat for team Navy's last two losses. I just want to shed some light on a couple of issues that many people have found with the quality of enjoyment of these league games.
I feel that I can offer a somewhat unique perspective on the quality of refereeing, as I participate in a league other than the Y league with people from my office. Without having the knowledge of what else is out there in the realm of NYC basketball leagues, it is tough to make judgment on the officiating at the Y.
However, even without a comparison I find that the officiating at the Y directly affects the way I play and makes the game less fun. Young players do not have the same relationship with the referees as the older players. It is nearly impossible (unless I'm guarding mini-me on Maroon) to get a steal off someone's dribble without getting called for a foul. Sometimes it seems that the referees are just waiting for you to say something out of frustration at their already poor officiating, at which point they become even more unfair in their calls.
Anyway, those are a few of the issues one can find without any reference point. Fortunately, I have had the pleasure of playing in a league where the referees are friendly with the players without taking sides, call the game consistently and fairly throughout, and as a result there is a much better relationship between players and refs. The problem (and great thing about it when the refs are good) is that this is a self perpetuating process. The fairer the refs are, the happier players are, the less players talk back to the referees, the happier the referees are and as a result the game is decided more by the quality of the two teams rather than the frustrations of both players and referees. On the other hand, when the refs are unhappy, on some sort of power trip and generally poor at calling the game, the players are in effect also unhappy and show this frustration on the court, which leads to even poorer officiating. Where this process started is hard to say, but at this point it doesn't look like shutting your mouth on the court helps when it comes down to it.
From my experiences, playing in my work league, even if it is sometimes (only sometimes, because there are some very good teams in the league there as well) not as competitive, is without question more fun and rewarding. I don't come into the game wondering whether I'll get a technical for politely asking who the foul was called on or if the other team has an advantage because they've been playing in the same league with the same refs for 8 years. These thoughts never enter my mind. I come to play ball and try my best to win with my teammates, and that's exactly what I get out of it.
To finish this off, a few final thoughts:
1) It IS possible to have fun playing in a basketball league
2) It IS possible to have a good relationship with referees, even in a heated game
3) It IS possible for referees to be friends with players without it affecting their officiating
4) The Y lacks all of the aforementioned things and is less fun as a result
5) Offer the referees from my work league jobs at the Y as a solution, because you don't want the players going somewhere else
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As a witness of yesterdays game, I can testify that the oficiating was horrid. On a few possesions, the game was ripped away from team Navy. However, while some teams (players) are closer with refs than others (buying them wings @ brother jimmys after games) its not a coincidence that the main culprits of the complaining happen to be first year players in the league. My advice is to continue with the attitude you guys had last night, and play through the poor calls and what not. In the end it's in your hands to win or lose anyways.
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