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Only losers complain about officials... or why OKC fans should worry more about Game 2 start than finish
Published: 6/15/2012 1:17 PM
Last Modified: 6/15/2012 1:17 PM

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... You know who complains about officials? Losers complain about officials, that's who.

How often do you hear fans from winning teams talk about how terrible the officiating was? Ever hear a winning fan say their team didn't deserve to win because of crummy officiating? Didn't think so.

Has officiating gotten worse? A little. Fewer people want to become officials because of the abuse they get from fans at the lower levels, and at the upper levels, the increased athleticism of the game has made the job much tougher.

But mainly the scrutiny is greater. Used to be, you might turn to your friend during a game and complain about a call. Today, every perceived injustice is on Twitter within seconds and being dissected for hours on a continuous loop by ESPN.

Did LeBron James foul Kevin Durant on the decisive play of Game 2 on Thursday night? Probably. But if you think you're going to get that call against a NBA star down the stretch you're crazy.

We're talking about NBA officiating here, folks. And although the quality of those blowing whistles may have diminished some in the last several years, the style of NBA officiating hasn't changed since the mid 1980s.

NBA officiating is to regular basketball officiating as a McDonald's hamburger is to the one you cook yourself on the grill at home. It has the same name and the genre is the same, but past that it's a whole different animal.

College basketball officials enforce rules. NBA officials manage the game. In the NBA, stars receive favorable treatment, some calls are ignored or adjusted to maintain the game's balance and other calls are made based not on what happened, but what should have happened.

That's not to say any of those things is right. But it's the way the NBA has been called since about the time Larry Bird and Magic Johnson made it a national league.

Another reason that final call isn't worth worrying about -- it really is the least of OKC's problems.

Rather than what happened at the end, Thunder fans should be much more concerned about what has happened at the beginning of the team's last three games.

Three games, three double-digit deficits. But only in Game 2 against Miami, the Thunder ran out of time before it could come all the way back.

It's a trend that must be corrected before a winnable series slips out of OKC's grasp. Game 3 on Sunday isn't a must win for the Thunder, but the team must show a little more early intensity.

Do that -- win or lose -- and it would seem a good bet the series will return to Oklahoma City with the Thunder at least having a chance to win two homes games to claim the NBA title.

Do less than that, and by next Thursday, the Thunder could be as hated in Cleveland as those Game 2 officials are in OKC right now.

Reader Comments

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Danomite Dandy Dan (8 months ago)

The greatest of all - Michael, was given the benefit of many calls, simply because he was considered so fast and extraordinary that he had no need to foul. :)

Danomite Dandy Dan (8 months ago)

Michael, being Jordan. Not the writer of this article. LOL

Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters (8 months ago)

Very funny. But you're right. Jordan might have been the most obvious case of this. I can't imagine LeBron gets more calls than Michael Jordan did.

Danomite Dandy Dan (8 months ago)

Unfortunately, my wife doesn't agree with your theory.
She also took exception to being called a loser.
Hurry up, game 3.

Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters (8 months ago)

Don't worry. My wife doesn't agree with me very much either.

Wildwood Aggie (8 months ago)

Right on Michael...Tired of hearing the whining...People have lost their heads about the Thunder (including some media types)...and have let themselves get wrapped up in the hype....keep your heads and perceptive....nobody is out to sink the Thunder (except their own 1st quarter play)...

punkin (8 months ago)

Cheating is cheating Michael, and if you can't or won't recognize that cheating, then you are part of the problems it presents. Being a writer doesn't make you right, only arrogant.

Thunder196 (8 months ago)

Waaahh the officals "cheated" us.

Danomite Dandy Dan (8 months ago)

Perhaps we should rehash this. :)

Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters (8 months ago)

No one is cheating. That's silly talk.

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Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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