Many of Our fans--and Ramsey--have been brainwashed!

[Billikan]

I read the long string on Ramsey and our fans all saying that poor Chicago State got some bad calls from the refs, etc, etc. The fact of the matter is that for the first 25 minutes of the game they fouled us on virtually every play and the refs called about 60% of the fouls. Then the Chicago State coach started screaming at the refs and they made a bunch of dumb calls on both sides.

But here is my problem with Ramsey and the rest of you fans who are moaning about poor Chicago State. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO TEAMS WHO PLAY ON THE ROAD IN DIVISION ONE BASKETBALL AND THE BILLS HAVE BEEN ON THE SHORT END TIME AND TIME AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

We almost never get any "homer" calls so now our so called "voice of the Billikens" has to do what he always does--find something to be negative about over and above what actually happened in the game. He is the most negative "home" announcer I have ever heard in my life. I heard some of those comments last night because I was in the hall of Savvis and I was really steamed. During the game our announcer is saying that the game is being stolen by the refs from Poor Chicago State. What a joke!

The bottom line is that Ramsey and you fans who support what he says haven't seen what a true home court advantage is in big time division 1 basketball. Do you think it was unusual that we had horrible calls go against us at the most crucial times at North Carolina. I watch more than one hundred games a year and the home team gets the key calls in the vast majority of those games. For some reason, over the past few years we never seem to get any calls at home and so for one game we finally get a few calls and our fans and our announcer are upset. Ridiculous!

I will repeat what I have said many times. Ramsey is not a Billikens fan. Ramsey is a Billikens announcer who has a job to call games. If he did not have the job he could care less about the Bills. He does not live and die with the team. He is quick to criticize the team and gives grudging praise. The glass is always half empty with Mr. Ramsey! The fact that he prays at the feet of the biggest idiot in St. Louis sports is a good indication of how he views his life. Obviously he thinks that Slaten can somehow help his career so he supports his inane and stupid rants.

Gosh, I sure hope the refs don't give us any calls at home against Iowa on Friday night. That would be just terrible!

[kshoe]

as a collective group to ***** and moan when we get jobbed by the likes of UNC, Louisville, Marquette, etc. but then when we do the same thing to somebody else try to justify it with statements like "The fact of the matter is that for the first 25 minutes of the game they fouled us on virtually every play and the refs called about 60% of the fouls"

Just admit that we had some home cooking last night. We can't have it both ways where we ***** about the officiating when we are on the road but don't even admit we got the benefits in games like last night. Saying people are upset about it is a bit strong...maybe you should say we are honest about it.

I think you are dead wrong about Bob. But since you have said it many times I won't try to argue it.

[SLUMS81]

Bob Ramsey and Earl Austin Jr. look like they live and die with the Bills every game. If you watch them during the game, they react to the good plays and the not-so-good plays just about the same way as most fans do. There is no reason to fixate on them.

[tseugnekillib]

It seems as if Rammer has made the "game officiating" a theme of his broadcast for far too long. SLU, at its present state, is going to get screwed on the road, and just MAYBE, depending on the opponent, will get

a homer call or two at home.

Perhaps Rammer bangs the refs so often because he really can't analyze what is happening in the game. Maybe for Lent, we can get the Rammer to give up ref bashing (both the on-the-road screw jobs and the homer calls).

[Billikan]

I could not agree more with your comments about Earl Austin. He is a Bills fan who does live and die with the Bills. You can hear him groan in the background when things go bad and he is so disappointed. Ramsey, on the other hand, is quick to find fault and is very uninterested in being a fan. Maybe he is auditioning for his next job and he does not want to be seen as a "homer". I have no idea why be he is always a half empty guy!

[Billikan]

You made my point! You accept that we get jobbed on the road and think that is just the way life is for teams like the Bills. Yet you want to make a big deal about a few calls that went our way at home. Sure we got some calls--and so did they. But the tone of many posts is that we somehow did not deserve to win--and that's where I draw the line and I will not accept that point of view!

[huzzah]

You cannot compare the officiating of this road game for Chicago State to the officiating of a road game for the Bills. Chicago State is a bought game. The fee can run from $40,000 to $60,000 and can also include travel expenses + athletic equipment. St. Louis U is not playing in games where they are bought. When we went to Oakland we did not get a fee, travel expenses, or athletic equipment. The officiating in our road games may be biased, but generally speaking will be more objective then in a bought game. Chicago State is suppose to lose. We paid them to come in here and lose. Their program is 1-9. They have played all games on the road and they were all bought games. This is how the Chicago State program survives. It does not rely on wins, but on bought games. The NCAA mirrors society; haves and have nots. The haves pay the have nots to come in and lose. The A-10 officials are not in a mood to see an upset. An upset may cost the conference money if the loss keeps SLU from being selected. The Wall Street Journal had an at length article on the programs surviving by playing in bought games. The article did not address officiating, but rather was in a more economic vein. The bought games allows these minor programs to survive, to hire coaches, to buy equipment. If they win a road game they are usually not invited back. In this light the outcome is not important to Chicage State. Receipt of our check is. The officiating was compatable with this atmosphere.

Peace and Happy New Year.

[slufanskip]

Yes there were bad calls ... if the gamw was called correctly it would have been 22 against the Bills and 50 against Chi St. There is no way St got jobbed ... they came in with the intent to hack an Ian and they got called for it ... about 70% of the time.

Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman

[bluecrewfinance]

All of this referee bashing is just plain agonizing to read; from a referee's perspective (albeit soccer, a bit different in game play), an official would have to be hell-bent on "working over" a team to take it to the extent that some fans have perceived...

In my mind, there is a distinct difference between a bad call and what most everyone around me at a game thinks is a bad call. A truly bad call comes from a referee who is not in the correct position to make a call, like a trail referee calling a baseline foul, even though the guy under the basket let it go. What a referee or an impartial observer sees and what a typical fan, coach or player sees are typically two entirely different things.

Now, this is not to say that I don't hound referees, but when I do, it is because s/he made a call from a bad position. I only hope that SLU fans extend the same courtesy to me when I'm working their son's or daughter's soccer games (which is more than likely to occur sometime soon).

All in all, I think it sucks to come out of a game and say "Man, we should have won but that referee just wasn't going to let a non-conference team ruin it for the ACC." That's a poor excuse coming out of a loss; human judgments are part of the game and can/should be adjusted for coming out of timeouts and the break. Moreover, an official's performance on the floor is just an excuse; people use it because they don't want to believe the reasons for their team's loss: Poor play, poor management or just an off night.