YOU DON'T SAY?

I have a Hotmail account. When I log in, like everyone else with Hotmail, I get the MSN homepage with a variety of little stories designed to catch your attention.

One did.

In their little scrolling pictures for the morning, there was a picture of a (sloppily dressed) basketball official (although I don't think they really knew what kind of official he was) and the title, "10 Jobs for Sports Lovers: No athletic talent required for these gigs."

I guess that depends on how you define "athletic talent." There is certainly some athletic stamina involved. Running up and down the field or court takes some level of athleticism, while avoiding players moving quickly all around you takes some skill. Can we dunk? Probably not. Can we throw a ball 40 yards down field? Not without losing your arm (but I have been known to toss a flag a goodly distance). Can we hit .400? I seriously doubt any umpire could hit .015. And I'd like to see the person who wrote that just try to keep up with ten other guys on ice and a hockey puck traveling at 100 mph. I have seen some rather non-athletic officials on the field and it is a frightening thing. Not only do you spend the game trying to protect them, but sometimes they actually get hurt.

Okay . . . enough of that. The comment about "no athletic talent required" isn't what generated this post. This is. For those who don't want to go there, it's a story about the top ten jobs for sports lovers -- oh, I already said that. Okay . . .

What got me was item #4: Referee or Umpire. This is cool. Career Builder is recognizing that refs & umps are a valid vocation. And they even provide a link to places that are looking for sports officials.

HOWEVER . . .

"Training requirements vary greatly by the sport and level of the teams -- from just a few training sessions to intelligence tests for the NFL. According to the BLS, referees, umpires and other sports officials earned a median annual salary of nearly $26,000 in 2004."

Um . . . Officiating is a great way to stay connected with the sport you love; it does take a certain amount of thick skin and tact, though. But let me tell you something: Nobody I have ever known personally has EVER made $26,000 by putting on a striped shirt. The figures they give are for big-time college officials and/or professional officials. Guys who work games in conferences like the Big 10, Pac-10, SEC, or guys who work in the NFL, NHL, MLB & NBA. And that, my friends, is a whole different world. The vast majority of officials work games for less than $50. One of my officiating colleagues years ago figured out that, based on travel time, time spent in study and classes, and actual game time, we earned $2.50/hour.

If you love the game and want to stay active in it (as well as actually learning the rules instead of assuming sportscasters know what they're talking about), I encourage you to become an official. It's hard work. It's thankless work. It's often abusive work. But it's also the most fun a person can have. You've got one of the best seats in the house. But don't expect to make $26,000 either.

And keep this in mind . . . everybody . . . EVERYBODY . . . Jim Tunney, Jerry Markbright, Ed Hochuli, and everybody else on TV, started working little kids games for $2.50/hr.