High school referees deserve your full respect

The long-held belief is no one goes to sporting events to see the officials or umpires.

But some supporting excitement was definitely added to the games decades ago with Ron Luciano shooting down players when they were out, Dutch Rennert's emphatic strike calls that could be heard miles away, Mendy Rudolph's flair on the basketball court and Ben Dreith's legendary NFL "Giving Him the Business" call to describe a penalty in the 1980s.

Not to mention the memorable Enrico Palazzo moonwalk in the "Naked Gun" movie.

They are the exceptions to those who make sure everyone follows the rules. Anyone who has ever gone through a high school rulebook understands how much the officials have to know in order to repeatedly make snap judgments.

Unfortunately we have been watching a lot of incidents with officials lately where people snapped and lost their judgment or their minds. It's one thing to get upset with a call and give an official a piece of your mind.

It's another thing entirely for high school football players to physically tag-team an official on a coach's order or to push an official over in the middle of a game. Or for an adult-league soccer official to get punched over a call.

So much for civility and respect for authority. Because a few calls didn't appear to go your way, is exacting some sort of physical or verbal justice that provides a brief moment of satisfaction worth the possibility of ruining an entire season or career? Didn't think so.

Officials are no different than players and coaches. Some are better than others and no one is perfect in a highly competitive environment.

Officials also understand disagreement comes with the territory. But it's a territory with boundaries that cannot be crossed.

Ranking review: High school player rankings may provide some fun debate but they are far from an exact science. Just take a look at how a couple of prep quarterbacks from California performed this week in the NFL.

Quarterback No. 1 was basically the next golden boy after tearing up the prep scene. He was featured in major magazines, made a ballyhooed arrival to arguably the nation's most storied program in a stretch limousine and was a national TV fixture.

Quarterback No. 2 saw his only Division I offer out of high school come as a chance to walk-on at powerhouse Illinois. He opted for a junior college and eventually made it to a decent D-I program but only because a coach spotted him while pursuing a different player.

So, who would you rather have now?

QB No. 1 (Jimmy Clausen) or QB No. 2 (Aaron Rodgers)?

Speaking of Rodgers: Former Fremd star Scott Tolzien, who also has taken the bumpier road to become Aaron Rodgers' backup in Green Bay, has never been one to spout off a lot of hyperbole. So it was interesting to see Tolzien's assessment on how good Rodgers is playing.

"To me, it's like watching (Michael) Jordan in his prime," Tolzien said to ESPNWisconsin.com. "He's at the top of his game. He makes it all go."

marty.maciaszek@gmail.com