Journalists have a lot of responsibilities. I mean, somebody has to pick the after-hours gathering place. Then some responsible soul must order the first round. Eventually, someone must trick all the others into handing in their car keys, etc.
Adding context and perspective to the MLS referee discussion
See? Our shoulders droop with weighty obligation.
In between, in daytime hours, we do actually have some real-world responsibilities. One of the primary trusts is adding context and maybe a little nuance to debates that would rage. One of them “ragers” is going on in our little domestic soccer valley right now. It’s about MLS referees. Maybe you’ve heard.
In all honesty, I wish a few of my colleagues would lean a little harder into efforts to add perspective. It’s not just good enough to pile on here. We can leave that to David Beckham. He got around to it last week. Maybe you heard.
So in my weekly review on MLS, the Five Things You Should Know about Week 5 column at SI.com, I attempt to add some context. You can click on the piece yourself, but the big point I make is this: Why is everyone so surprised that yellow and red cards are up in 2011?
MLS commish Don Garber talked up the league’s course correction before Major League Soccer’s 16th season began. Isn’t this how it should logically go? The referees adjust, followed by a short learning curve of player adjustment before we settle into a better place. Simple, right?
But everyone seems all flummoxed that yellow and red cards are a flyin’, to borrow from some of the current vernacular.
I think the refrain I’m hearing too much right now (in many cases as I watch local broadcasts of MLS matches, but also from some national broadcasters who should know better) is that “MLS officiating isn’t very good right now.” Well, that’s true technically, I suppose. But that’s where the perspective and context comes in. It’s been weak and inconsistent for a long time. The difference now is that we’re actually having these long-overdue conversations.
Along those lines, why aren’t we hearing a little more about the players’ responsibilities in all this? Yes, I understand that consistency is an issue with the men in the middle. And, no, I don’t think MLS officials are where they need to be. But at some point, teams must adjust to the new standards. If they don’t … well, the repercussions are squarely on the players and the clubs.
There are several other points I make in the SI.com piece, including examples of some of the whiney babies of the weekend and one thing that U.S. Soccer absolutely got wrong in all this. (The weekly Power Rankings and the Team of the Week are all there, too.)
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