A Ref's Life

In my line of work,I meet a wide range of people. Some tell me their profession and others don't when I try to keep the small talk going as I fix their computer. Tonite I hit the jackpot because he was a high school referee. They must have a club or something because when he spoke he seemed to represent the professional refs too. We discussed the Eagles and how Horse collar tackles are only illegal in the NFL. He also touched on how focused they have to be because if they turned to hear the athlete's plead their case,vital plays could be missed. That's why you see on TV the players talking to the refs but never getting eye contact. Funny enough he said he doesn't even pay attention to the coaches unless they call "time out" or call him names other than "SIR", LOL. Now that's being focused. Another good point came up when I asked him why does the refereeing seem different when playoffs roll around? He answered by mentioning how at that phase,only the good teams remain and usually they reached that level because they don't commit too many penalties to begin with. Good Point...