LEXINGTON, Ky. _ If the coronavirus pandemic leads to games being played in empty arenas later this year, among the people that will wish the fans were there are ... referees.
You read that correctly. And the more rabid the fan base, the more the referees will miss the derisive shouting, booing, jeering and cries for _ wink, wink _ justice.
"That's part of the fun of it, people voicing their disapproval," said Barry Mano, the founder and president of the National Association of Sports Officials. "We can handle all that. So, working in a vacuum is not a lot of fun."
John Clougherty, a longtime referee in the Southeastern Conference and later supervisor of officials in the Atlantic Coast Conference, said referees are trained to work in charged atmospheres. The more electrified the better, he said.
"I just loved competitive games with fans being involved and everything is wired up," he said. "That was part of the fun of it."
Clougherty singled out the Kentucky-Arkansas games in the early 1990s as assignments he wanted. Arkansas came into the SEC with something to prove. Kentucky was the lord of the league manor appalled by the newcomer's impertinence. Five of the first seven games featured both teams ranked in the top 10. Rupp Arena was, well, Rupp Arena, the fans' total investment intensified by fouls not called on Arkansas' signature "40 minutes of hell" style. Arkansas' cozy Barnhill Arena steamed with irreverence (the pep band played the theme to the Godfather when then-UK coach Rick Pitino first appeared on the court; Pitino was not amused).
"Kentucky-Arkansas were the hardest games," Clougherty said. "I thought I was born to do this. Those fans are going to be wacky tonight, and this environment is going to be so intense. And I'm going to enjoy this.
"And I think most officials feel that way."
Clougherty worked four of those first seven UK-Arkansas league games.
Rather than a distraction, rabid fans lead to better officiating, Mano and Clougherty said. Mano likened officiating games featuring sensory overload to an astronaut dealing with an alarm signaling a malfunction. The referee and the astronaut have been trained to deal with nerve-wracking situations.
"You really feel as an official that you're out there, that you're immersed in this environment that's not really happy with you," he said. "Well, if you can thrive in that kind of environment, you end up being a damn good referee."
Mano said that he advises referees to welcome the boos.
"You've got to love it when they boo," he said. "And I mean it. I used to feel great when this whole audience was booing me. And in my mind, and under my breath, I'm saying, 'I got this play right. Screw it.' There's something about that that's attractive. So, you've got to be a bit of a contrarian, I think, to survive organized sports as a referee."
By contrast, fan approval worried Mano. "I'm not out there to get your applause," he said. "Thank you very much."
When it's deemed safe to attend games, Mano said he expects the fans to direct less abuse at referees ... at least for a while.
"They're going to be better behaved," he said. "That will all go away. I get it. But I think for a while there's going to be a honeymoon."
How long will the honeymoon last?
"Probably two and a half weeks," Mano said.
Will perpetually on-edge Kentucky fans be lovey-dovey for that long?
"At Kentucky, it's going to be two and a half days," Mano said. "In the normal world, probably two and a half weeks."
