Referee Quotes

“The referee told me this league has never had a brawl of that magnitude," said Mr. Penderwick after a long, painful silence. "Of course, at the time I was pretending to be a casual passerby and not a father at all.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

“We don’t know the final outcome, or even know how long the battle will last, but we do know the referee.”
― K. Howard Joslin, Honest Wrestling: Questions of Faith When Attacked by Life

“Each life - a unique story.
Each lifeform - a unique book of stories.

If I condemn the life of one for doing good, one's story is enriched - by my own enrichment. Forgiveness, therefore preserves and creates a different kind of wealth. And, we're all part of the same book. Once the ink joins the fabric of the paper, it's final.

Who decides the final page?”
― Cosmaristw

“It's because we have a 'next time' that we can breathe properly.”
― Yuki Suetsugu, ちはやふる 32

“All active participants in a meeting can instinctively sense progress, and when progress isn’t being made, they get cranky and start looking for the exit. A referee’s job is to shape the meeting to meet the requirements of the agenda and the expectations of the participants. Style and execution vary wildly from referee to referee, but the defining characteristics are the perceptions of the meeting participants. A good referee not only makes sure the majority of the attendees believe progress is being made, but they’re aware of anyone who doesn’t believe that progress is being made at any given moment. And they’re looking for one thing . . . people checked out.”
― Michael Lopp, Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager

“I have a lot of respect for good officials, and they know I think really good officials are priceless. As all rare things are.”
― Bob Knight, The Power of Negative Thinking: An Unconventional Approach to Achieving Positive Results

“Sean dribbled to the basket, leaping into the air and leaning into defenders, grimacing when no foul came. This would inspire Hurley to tell him at halftime, 'Why isn't there a call? Because no referee in the world is going to blow the whistle and bail out a fucking idiot who's up in the air for some unknown reason.”
― Adrian Wojnarowski, The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty