by Lauren Wilson
 |
|
Dan Blum (front) with fellow official Ruben Fowler |
February 15, 2010 - When people usually think of a football official, they don’t typically associate them with anything but yelling and harsh phrases. What we fail to realize in the heat of the game is that the referees are there to keep the game fair, level, and safe for both teams during those sixty minutes. We as fans are biased, but Dan Blum, a 25 year college division 1-A veteran official, cannot be. He sat down and gave me a vivid picture of the “third team,” as he named the six officials on the field.
Blum started his career as an official like many others in his field; he started from the ground up. In 1965, as a college student at USL, he became involved with recreation leagues through a friend. He worked his way up to the high school division with aspirations to move further up the ladder into the college division. Blum categorized his chances into a mathematical equation. “There are about one-thousand officials in Louisiana alone for high school. Only the best of those guys are chosen to officiate for college. There are a lot of great officials and you have to be good at what you do,” Blum said.
His talent for officiating coincides with his passion for calling the shots. “You have to love what you do,” Blum said. And, he must. Officiating is more than carrying the power to change a game with one flag. Each year there are rule changes or additions that officials must add to their memory. There is also the added stress of traveling each weekend to games where unruly fans curse at your back during the game. When I asked Blum about these work environment stressors he replied, “It was never stressful to me. Not in the forty years was it stressful. I just love the challenge of being there. Once you start the game, you forget about everything else and remember that it’s a football game.” Of course, what a fan sees on the field is not always as it seems. “I was officiating a game where the coach and I knew each other. He comes streaking towards me, rips off his headset, and says, ‘Damn! It’s a beautiful day!’ Everyone else thought he cursed me and that was the point,” Blum recalls.
Blum’s worst problem during his career, “Concentration,” he said. “You have to be able to focus for three plus hours on 150 to 175 plays a game.” That is not where I thought the problem would lie. When I asked him about angry coaches or aggressive players he said that it was never a problem for him. “Coaches know their boundaries and a good coach tells his players not to talk to [officials] on the field,” he commented. Blum admires teams with good discipline who can keep themselves under control. Not an easy task when you are surrounded by 300-pound men aiming for each other.
There are always those calls that fans and coaches band together in unruly disapproval. Blum shrugs it off. “Officials are blamed for a lot they shouldn’t be. It’s part of the game. If you know you did the best you can do, it is what it is,” he said. It is a humble statement from this respected official. Another part of the game now is replay. It is fairly new to the College division and as a current replay official Blum has an opinion about this heated topic. “I think it’s useful,” he continues, “I don’t think it makes the game any better. All parts will make a mistake – coaches, players, and officials. We just try to be quick in the booth and a great majority of the time officials are correct.” Some reassuring words to hear from a man who can really become a game changer.
Becoming an official is not for those looking for the limelight. Blum explained that the best officials are the ones who are not noticed throughout a game. Their job is to keep the game running smoothly and to manage the time into seamless transitions from one play to the next. The best compliment he ever received was from a friend who did not notice he was the game’s head official. “No one goes to the game to see the officials. No one, but your family cares you’re there,” Blum admits and he’s happy with that. Even being in a televised game was not a problem for him. “Working a football game in front of thousands of fans or not, there’s a football game. Out there you’re doing your job and that’s it,” Blum said.
With all of Blum’s experiences he stays grounded. His advice to young officials, “Learn all that you can. Find a mentor. Someone who can help you in your career. And, you need to do it for the love of the game.” It is a hobby for Blum. He sells insurance in Lafayette as his primary job. He thinks that it is more stressful than officiating the most outrageous football game. “It’s a selfish hobby. You do it just for you,” Blum says. His wife understands, though. Blum said, “I’ve been officiating for 45 years and married for 42. She always jokes that football came before her.” It is a sweet comment and his appreciation for her and his three children’s acceptance of his zealous hobby rings in his voice. Each weekend, Blum would travel to different locations all over the United States to officiate football games. He would train and study for his field time just as any other person would for a regular nine to five. How did he keep up with his busy schedule of being a father, husband, career man, and official? “Real busy people tell you that you will find the time for what you want to do. You make the time,” Blum says. After 45 years, it seems he used time to its fullest.
Although Blum has advanced in his officiating career, he admits to being happy in the high school division. He firmly believes that any official needs to be happy in whatever division they are involved with. Blum says some officials can become discouraged if they do not move up in to college or the National Football League. He says as an official, “you have to find a way to balance that. It doesn’t matter where you are. It’s a football game. Find a way to enjoy it.” Blum has proven he has. After he retired from field officiating he still enjoys being a part of the game doing replays in the booth. “I feel very lucky to have had such a long career. There are a lot of great officials who are probably better than I was, but I must have done something right. They renewed my contract ever year.”
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
