Official Reveals 5 Cold Hard Truths About Youth Football

I’m a football official who’s going to reveal the cold hard truth about youth football.  The information I’m about to reveal is so secretive that if this was a news video I’d be sitting in the dark and my voice would be altered.

Yes, I’m going to finally reveal what those football officials, the one’s that dare to flag your child, really think.  I’m going to reveal our hidden agenda. 

What you’re about to read will shock you and possibly change your life forever.

Here it is: when it comes to youth football, referees don’t care who wins or loses!  Cue dramatic music.  I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true. 

The team in the blue jerseys can win.  The team in red jerseys can win.  It makes no difference to us.  We’re not rooting for any team or any player.  We’re there to administer the contest, enforce the rules, and uphold the integrity of the game of football.

As shocking as that is to hear, there’s more.  Below are five more cold hard truths about youth football.

What officials really care about is timing and safety.
I’ve officiated youth football for ten years.  Not only can’t I tell you a score of one youth game, I can’t even tell you the name of one youth team.  What officials care about is finishing the game on time and making sure everyone is safe.

We want the game to have a good brisk pace, which generally serves kids—a group not known for having the longest attention span—and we want blowouts to end as soon as possible.  Also, we truly want your kids to finish the game in one piece.  We don’t like injuries any more than you do.

Youth football can be difficult to officiate.
At the youth football level, kids are still learning the game.  That means they’re making mistakes and a lot of their mistakes can draw a flag.  Officials are always trying to balance enforcing the rules with letting kids play.  Yes, kids need to learn the game, but they also deserve to have fun.  Throwing a flag on every play teaches them nothing and ruins the experience of football.

Prolonged yelling at the officials doesn’t help.
I wrote “prolonged yelling” because I’m fine with a chirp here and there.  Prolonged yelling, shouting obscenities, or ridiculing the officials (calling us zebras or saying we’re blind) does not help.  We aren’t going to change a call, and we’re not going to throw a make-up flag.

Some referees don’t want anyone, coaches included, to say a peep about officiating.  I’m a bit more lenient. I understand that the only two jobs on the planet where it’s impossible to be objective are parenting and coaching.  So, a quick reaction like “come on referee!” or “where’s the pass interference?” is fine as long as that’s all you say.

Youth football is used as a training ground for officials.
Every region is different, but a lot of youth leagues employ organizations that officiate many levels of football.  These organizations often use youth football as training grounds.  Therefore, you child’s game might be officiated by an inexperienced official.  That can be frustrating but think of it this way: would you rather have an official learn during your child’s youth game or during your child’s varsity game?

Poor officiating isn’t necessarily blowing a call.
A lot of officiating depends on judgement.  One officials may throw a flag for a hold or pass interference while another official, on a similar play, keeps their flag in their belt.  Blowing a hold or a pass interference call, even an illegal formation or an offsides, isn’t necessarily poor officiating. 

What’s definitely poor officiating is not hustling, being out of position, having a bad attitude, and poorly communicating with coaches, players, and other officials.  Basically, acting in an unprofessional manner.

Officials dislike poor officiating as much as you, but remember, we are also human.  Just as a player can have a bad game, so can an official.  Yet, a bad game doesn’t necessarily mean a bad official. 

If you think an official is acting unprofessionally, then you might want to speak to a league administrator after the game.  They can contact the official’s organization.

I guarantee every football official’s organization wants to know if one of their own acted unprofessionally.

Ten Hated Bands That Are Very Successful

Certain artists consistently show up on lists of the most hated bands of all-time.  For some reason, these groups are not well-liked.  Yet, someone likes them because they keep making music.

What follows is a list of ten universally hated bands that are also very successful.  You’ll soon learn that being detested doesn’t stop groups from selling albums and launching world tours. 

U2
U2 is like olives.  You either love them or you hate them.  Regardless of which camp you’re in, it’s clear that U2 is one of the most successful bands of all-time.  They’ve sold more than 170 million albums, captured 22 Grammy Awards, and are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  The Irish rockers are also responsible for highest grossing concert tour of all-time.

Blink-182
Blink-182 has moved more than 50 million albums.  Two of their studio offerings went to number one and their single, "All the Small Things," peaked at number six.  That may not sound like much, but it’s pretty good for a punk band.  Best of all, they released an album with Janine Lindemulder on the cover. Let’s see a well-liked band do that.

Coldplay
Coldplay’s sales totals exceed 80 million.  During their career, which started in 1996, their music has won more than 60 awards.  In the U.S., they have four number one albums.  In the U.K., they have seven (impressive since they’ve only released seven albums).  Their seminal single, “Viva la Vida,” has sold more than 7 million copies and won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

Creed
You’ll have a better chance of finding Bigfoot then finding someone who will admit to being a Creed fan.  Yet, the band has defied all the haters and put together an impressive resume.  They’ve sold more than 50 million records, charted two number one albums, and earned four platinum certifications.  Their 1999 release, Human Clay, is one of the bestselling albums of all-time.

Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit is on the shortlist for most hated musical act of all-time.  Even so, they’re members of the 50 Million Club as in 50 million albums sold.  They have two number one albums to their credit and have been nominated for three Grammys.  Limp Bizkit ruined Woodstock '99 but still managed to get booked for the 2001 Big Day Out festival, which they also ruined.

Maroon 5
Maroon 5 has sold more than 70 million singles and 20 million albums.  They’ve charted three number one singles and sent nine more inside the top ten.  Adam Levine and company have received three Grammy Awards and Billboard put them on a list of the top 100 artists of all-time, twice.  You hate Maroon 5, but how do you feel about Kara's Flowers? 

Nickelback
The animosity and vitriol that Nickelback creates must weigh them down… with money.  They were the second bestselling foreign act of the 2000s in the United States (The Beatles were number one).  Worldwide, they’ve sold more than 50 million albums and their single, “How You Remind Me,” was the bestselling rock song of the decade.  Seven of their studio albums have peaked inside the top ten.

One Direction
Since their inception in 2010, One Direction has been going in one direction and that direction is to the bank.  They are the first band in the history of the Billboard 200 to have their first four albums debut at number one.  Their 2014 musical trek, the “Where We Are Tour,” was the most successful tour by a vocal group of all-time.  Niall, Liam, Harry, and Louis are consistently ranked on lists of the world’s highest earning musicians.

Stone Temple Pilots
I always thought Stone Temple Pilots got a bad rap and were a bit underrated.  Still, they are one of the most hated bands of all-time.  They are probably the least successful act on our list.  Sure, they have four platinum certifications, but most of their platters dropped in an era when people still bought albums.  STP does have one claim to fame: all six of their studio albums peaked inside the top ten of the Billboard 200. 

98 Degrees
Any organization with Nick Lachey as a member is going to be despised.  Despite his “charm,” 98 Degrees stilled finagled three platinum records, one gold record, and a number one single, "Thank God I Found You” with Mariah Carey and Joe.  It’s not necessarily a financial success, but it’s certainly an artistic one.  We’re talking about that track 98D recorded with Stevie Wonder.

Denver Broncos Have Some of the Best Fans In NFL

Michael Lewis, a professor at Emory University, recently released a study of the best fans in the NFL.  The Denver Broncos ranked eighth. 

That’s probably a bit low, especially when you consider the Broncos ranked sixth in average attendance in 2016. 

Their average road attendance was 30th, but they did play three teams in the bottom five.

The placement of Broncos fans isn’t even close to the study’s most egregious ranking.  The list is worse than Trevor Siemian when he plays the Chargers.

The Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots supposedly have the best fans.  Obviously, Lewis didn’t deduct points for bandwagoners. 

The worst fans, according to the professor, belongs to the Kansas City Chiefs.  While I love seeing the Chiefs in last place, saying they have the worst fans in the NFL is like calling the Rocky Mountains a forgettable series of mounds.  They’ve won one playoff game in 23 years and their fans still pack Arrowhead Stadium.

How can the Jacksonville Jaguars not be last?  Who likes the Jags?

Lewis’ list makes sense when you realize Emory University is in Atlanta—a city not known for its passionate sports fans or holding leads in the Super Bowl.

Few Phillies Among National League Hitting and Pitching Leaders

The 2017 MLB season will be a long one for the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans.  With one-hundred games left in the season, the Phillies are already 20 games below .500 and 16.5 games back of the Washington Nationals.

“Wait until next year” came early this year.

Not all is dour for the Philly faithful.  They defeated the Cincinnati Reds on Opening Day.  Meaning for twenty-four hours they had a winning record.

They’ve spent four days atop the NL East, enjoyed five walkoff wins, and most impressively, especially for a team on pace to lose 100 games, they’ve posted a six-game winning streak.

That’s something the Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians, and Arizona Diamondbacks—all teams with winning records, the Twins and Brewers are leading their respective divisions—have not done.

Other positives include Odúbel Herrera leading the National League in doubles and Maikel Franco leading the National League in grounding into double plays.  Okay, that last stat isn’t positive, but he’s the only other Philly leading the NL in an offensive category.

On the pitching side, Jerad Eickhoff and Jeremy Hellickson are tied for the league lead in games started… along with 31 other pitchers.

If you look at the batting and pitching leaderboards for the National League, you’ll find very few Phillies.  In fact, Philadelphia has the fewest entries of any team in the NL.

I looked at the top ten leaders in 68 positive and neutral statistical categories—40 for hitting and 28 for pitching.  Examples of positive categories are home runs and ERA.  Examples of neutral categories are at bats and batters faced.

Within those 68 statistical categories, Phillies appeared just ten times.  That was by far the fewest entries of any team in the Senior Circuit.  The Phillies had eight among batting leaders and two among pitching leaders.

The team with the second fewest entries was the San Diego Padres.  They had 20.  Your world champion Chicago Cubs were next with 28.

The Nationals were the only team with more than 100 entries—113 to be exact.  The Arizona Diamondbacks were second with 97.

Washington’s hurlers accounted for 50 entries.  The most for a National League staff. 

For batters, the Reds had the most entries.  Thanks to Joey Votto and Zack Cozart, Cincinnati sluggers were listed 65 times among the league’s batting leaders.

This look at how frequently players from National League teams appeared on the batting and pitching leaderboards is a tenuous measuring stick.  With so much of the season left to play, these numbers may increase or decrease dramatically.

Yet, the survey is revealing.  There seems to be a relationship between players putting up numbers and winning.

Nationals and Diamondbacks are found all over the leaderboards.  Therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised that both teams have winning percentages of .600 or above. 

Meanwhile, the two teams with winning percentages below .400, the Phillies and Padres, are barely represented among batting and pitching leaders.

The Brewers are the anomaly.  They have the fewest entries of any of the five National League teams with a winning record.

For Philly fans, what this means is in 2017 they’ll be avoiding both the standings and the leaderboards.

Number of Entries Among Hitting Leaders

Cincinnati Reds	65
Washington Nationals		63
Arizona Diamondbacks		50
Colorado Rockies		49
Atlanta Braves		36
Miami Marlins		31
New York Mets		23
San Francisco Giants		20
Milwaukee Brewers		20
Chicago Cubs		18
Los Angeles Dodgers		15
San Diego Padres		11
St. Louis Cardinals		9
Pittsburgh Pirates		9
Philadelphia Phillies		8

Number of Entries Among Pitching Leaders

Washington Nationals	50
Arizona Diamondbacks	47
St. Louis Cardinals	43
Pittsburgh Pirates	32
Los Angeles Dodgers	31
San Francisco Giants	23
Milwaukee Brewers	22
Colorado Rockies	16
New York Mets	11
Chicago Cubs	10
Cincinnati Reds	9
San Diego Padres	9
Miami Marlins	8
Atlanta Braves	4
Philadelphia Phillies	2

Total Number of Combined Entries

Washington Nationals	133
Arizona Diamondbacks	97
Cincinnati Reds	74
Colorado Rockies	65
St. Louis Cardinals	52
Los Angeles Dodgers	46
San Francisco Giants	43
Milwaukee Brewers	42
Pittsburgh Pirates	41
Atlanta Braves	40
Miami Marlins	39
New York Mets	34
Chicago Cubs	28
San Diego Padres	20
Philadelphia Phillies	10

Stats current as of 6-13-2017.

Stats provided by Baseball Reference.