Reverend Ref +

WHAT WENT WRONG??

Before I went to seminary, I officiated highschool football for 13 seasons. It was a great hobby, and I'm looking forward to getting back into it here in Montana after four years off.

When The Kid was born, her first gift from dad was a pink football. By the age of two, she had learned all of the official signals; everything from "dead ball" to "safety." But then, at some point, she rebelled and decided that football was a waste of time. She might as well have told me that she was running off to Arizona with some biker dude.

Anyway, she seems to be getting back into the sport, although somewhat reluctantly. It helps if she watches with her mother. And she ALWAYS roots for teams based on whether their mascots are animals, and if she likes that animal all the better. She will root for the Falcons over the Chargers. She will root for the Broncos over the Colts (and she was none to pleased with the outcome of last weekend's game). But she also has a few things to add.

For instance, in one play (I think it was the Vikings and Packers, but I can't be totally sure), a defensive lineman charged through and levelled the running back almost before he got the ball. Now, we all know that lineman aren't small. She immediately decided that he should be flagged for "too much aggressive use of the belly." Oh my.

And then, either later in that game or another game, she informed me that QB stood for "Qewt (cute) Boy." I tried to inform her that, no, it did not. Her mother, however, did point out that quarter backs were most often the cutest guys on the field.

I gave up at that point.

Pray for the dad of a pre-teen.