Idaho Mountain Express: Scabs cross the line

Friday, September 28, 2012

Scabs cross the line

By CHRIS MILLSPAUGH

As if we didn’t have enough disappointments in our lives, now we have the National Football League fielding scab game officials to take away one of our last remaining sources of entertainment—viewing professional football after a long week of trying to make a living while attempting to survive in the worst economic time in our history.

After a season of rooting for the Seattle Mariners, who have spent the last six months in last place of the American League West Division of Major League Baseball, I was really looking forward to the joys of the football season. The reality is the Boise State University Broncos football team is in a rebuilding year and has absolutely no offense. Still, there was the National Football Season coming and I could look forward to a glimmer of satisfaction—not so fast, Bozo.

This season, the NFL officiating crews went on strike against the powerful NFL owners and walked out on the games. The owners, in their wisdom, defied the union and hired “scabs,” those people who cross picket lines and replace union workers. What kind of replacement referees? Apparently, they hired some of the worst. Why, because all the good football officials were working the major college conferences for the season. The choices that remained were high school and junior college amateur part-time “refs” who already had steady day jobs. A case in point would be Lance Easley, a banker from California, hired to fill in during the Seattle Seahawks game with the Green Bay Packers last Monday night. Poor Lance blew a call in the closing moments of the game that robbed the Packers of a victory. Mr. Easley is not very well liked in football circles now, including by some disillusioned bookmakers in Las Vegas.

What does all this mean in the greater scheme of things? Not much, really, when you consider the unrest in the Middle East, the torn economy of the world and a presidential election looming next month, but couldn’t we have just one thing to lighten and cheer up our lives? Like, say, the Sun Valley’s City Council’s performance this year? Now, that’s hilarious.

Nice talking to you.

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