A few weeks ago, our very own RAdm Filipe posted his call for the week, and he noted the calm, controlled signal from the coverage official.
“It’s not the 1980s,” Cam noted. I like this remark! But it got me thinking about how officials signal a call and how the philosophy has completely changed in a generation.
In the 1960s through to the early 1990s, football officials let their personalities shine through on their calls. If there was a big call that needed to be sold, the official would emphatically signal the play – frantically signaling incomplete, waving several arms out of bounds, pounding the ground to signal a booby ball and jumping while signaling the touchdown.
An example:
The philosophy behind making a big signal is to show players, coaches and fans that this is an important and important moment in the game and “I’VE GOT THE CALL!” I’M ABOVE THIS, I’M IN A GOOD POSITION AND I’M POSITIVE I GET IT!”
Over the years, officials have learned to give calm, controlled, almost relaxed signals. The reasoning behind the change is that officials, when signaling, want viewers to know, “I’ve seen this before. I’ve called 100 games like this and I’ll probably call 100 more like this. You’re excited, but I’m completely under control.
Here is another example. These are images of NFL record field goals, 51 years apart. Two dramatic and historic calls. Note the referees signaling the result of the kick.
Today, we smile or roll our eyes when we see images of officials doing touchdown jumps and frantically pumping a catch out of bounds. We think the official is making a show from the call. But imagine what a civil servant in 1970 would think when he saw signals today. They might think, “Are they Of course of their call? Are they too lazy to make a big signal? Do they even have want to to referee this game?
Two different generations. Two different ways for officials to signal. Stick around long enough and we might see another change in how officials present themselves.
