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Fatigue Makes Cowards of Us All |
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During last night's five-overtime marathon between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets, I kept thinking about this famous quote: "Fatigue makes cowards of us all."
Depending on which source you consult, the quote is credited either to Gen. George Patton or to Vince Lombardi. To be honest, I don't know if "coward" is the right word. I don't think one loses nerve or bravery. However, fatigue most certainly leads to physical errors and mental miscalculations that one would not ordinarily make.
That goes for officials, too. The next time you watch a playoff game that goes multiple overtimes and you hear the announcers go on and on about how taxing it is on the players -- and it certainly is -- keep in mind that the officials are out there skating the entire game. There's no one to hop over the boards for the next shift to give the officials a respite.
Plain and simple, unless it's the most informal of rec hockey leagues, conditioning is not optional in today's game whether you're playing or officiating. Cardiovascular conditioning is every bit as important as muscular conditioning. In today's NHL, the officials are among the best conditions athletes in the game. Aspiring officials should take note of this, and those already in the game must be accountable to upholding those standards. You owe it to the game, the fans, the players and to your officiating brethren.
During my playing days and active officiating career, I took pride in my conditioning. However, there was less understanding back then than there is today of things such as the need to stay well hydrated throughout a game and to eat something during intermissions. I can remember times where fatigue started to take hold -- as much I tried to fight it -- and times where it contributed to mistakes.
To those who have asked, I thought that Cam Atkinson was fouled by Victor Hedman on his shorthanded breakaway after the Blue Jackets received an automatic delay-of-game penalty for putting the puck over the glass in the defensive zone. Should it have been a penalty shot? Judgment call, but I think the criteria were met. Should it have been a hold penalty on Hedman in lieu of a penalty shot? Well, I saw Hedman wrap one arm over Atkinson and push him with the other.
It takes guts to make a call like that in a playoff overtime, but we pay our officials to judge. To take no action WAS, in fact an action, because the Blue Jackets lost a potential game-winning scoring chance. I thought a no-call in the name of "letting the players decide it" was the wrong decision, but then again, I wasn't the one with the orange-banded striped shirt and the whistle in my hand.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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