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Editor:
After reading Mr. Degel's column ("Thoughts on intramurals, baseball," Oct. 2), I feel obligated to respond on behalf of the intramural sports staff. I worked for intramural sports for four years as both an official and as a sport assistant (not a "student assistant" as Mr. Degel referred to them).
I feel the program has been slighted and that some of the blame has been mistakenly placed on the officials. First, I must admit that the officiating is not of the highest caliber. I, too, am guilty of not being as good as a professional level official. You also admitted that you were an official for a short time and that your own performance was sub-par.
Mr. Degel, do you remember how much you were paid for your time as an official? For the amount that the intramurals officials make, it is difficult to attract the best out there. City leagues, high schools, and even junior high schools pay better than our program is able to afford. Unless you feel like paying a much larger entry fee so that the program can afford to pay better and to pay for more training, you must accept the quality that is currently available. It is unfortunate that it works that way, but money does make the our world go round.
More important than the training and pay that the officials receive is the abuse they receive. Some of the blame should fall on your teammates and all the others that find it necessary to berate the officials. Even if "the calls aren't going your way," that does not give any participant the right to belittle an official. One characteristic of an athlete is self-discipline. Show a little bit of discipline by not getting bogged down in "bad calls" or other small problems. If you argue that you are not an athlete, then one must rebut by saying that you should, then, be out there to have fun. Yelling at people for a good time is a bit unusual. Please remember that you are playing. Nobody likes someone who cries on the playground.
So next time Michael Salgado or any other sport assistant asks you to grab a whistle and try your hand, please remember that there is more to the game than the officials. There are athletes. And athletes, serious or not, should play the game. When you start to yell and curse and whine, you are no longer an athlete. You are a small child who couldn't get a swing and has to lament his situation loudly. Be a big boy and find somewhere else to play or just don't play at all.
Eduardo F. Fiallos
general biology senior
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