Thursday, September 27, 2012

NFL Refs and Catholic Angst

Far be it from me to defend the poor officiating that has taken place this year.  Further be it from me to not be really happy the regular refs are coming back to work.  I do not believe that one of the replacement refs were fired from the Lingerie league but I do know they have made some very questionable calls.  I also think it is funny that while the Islamic world erupts over a poorly made video on YouTube, killing our ambassador and terrorizing their respective homelands, Americans were ready to riot over an interception called a reception in the end zone. 

Frankly, I expect tonight the real refs will get a huge welcome until one of them makes their first bad call. At that point someone will call for their beheading and the riot will be on once again.

Well, Football is a religion, albeit a minor one.

Being a member of the Ecclesiastical National Football League, Forty Niner Denomination (we sign ourselves in the Name of Walsh, Montana, and Ronnie Lott) can be tough.  We are often persecuted for our beliefs.  We are called Whiners instead of what we should be called - The Faithful - and people question the parentage of our football players.  We can take it.  We are a sturdy lot, forged on the cold splintery seats of Kezar Stadium.  Our mighty voices are heard for we are able to cheer into the icy winds of Candlestick Park.   We have sat there in our fake jerseys no matter what happens; cheering as our team won mighty trophies and yelling, "Come on, you can do it!" when the guys couldn't seem to get out of the locker room without injuring themselves.  Some of us even learned to do the Chicken Dance along with Hanks and every single one of us knows exactly where we were when Dwight made The Catch (though I will tell you that the truly enlightened members of the flock know that Stuckey was the real hero of that game).

We are The Faithful.

I am glad the Real Refs are back.  I am thankful for the valiant effort put forward by the other guys but it was getting a little too stupid even for me to handle anymore, and I am pretty kind to refs compared to some of my fellow worshipers.   I am grateful that the season can now go forward and the Niners can resume their march towards the Superbowl.

And I am so glad the Packers lost another one. 

HA!


2 comments:

Robert said...

Leslie,

Thank goodness I only lived in the Atlanta area for three years back in the late 1970's. This fact gives me a plausible explanation for not being a Falcon's fan. I stopped following the game after a traumatic event, the 1982 Jan 10th Dallas-San Francisco game. I guess I was a bit touchy back then.

Robert

chimakuni said...

I bow down to you!!! HA!