Doing what's right

Too often in sports, we dwell on the shortcomings of referees. But I'd like to take a moment to remind fans that a ref has an extremely difficult job. We drop them in a thick tangle of limbs -- limbs that collide, pull and grab -- and ask them to correctly identify a single violation in a fraction of a second. And we ask them to do this in a hostile arena in front of a loud, angry and boorish throng of shirtless assholes.

So it's especially nice when you have a chance to congratulate a ref for doing what's right. With a little over three minutes to go in Saturday's game against BYU (AP ranked 15), Washington lined up on their own 25 and eyeballed a confident defense and a 7 point deficit. Jake Locker (203 yards passing, 67 yards rushing and 4 total TDs) and a fleet of freshman receivers put together a dramatic 14 play drive to bring them to BYU's 3. First and goal: fade route right, perfect pass but better coverage. Second and goal: fade route left to the tight end - bad pass. On third down, Washington spread its offense and ran a QB draw. Locker stumbled laterally about 10 yards, broke two tackles and stretched into the endzone. BYU 28- Washington 27.

This is when things got out of hand.

Locker jumped up, tossed the ball behind his back and jumped into the arms of the nearest husky. He continued in this tasteless manner for nearly 5 full seconds. A proud BYU defense was helpless - they were forced to watch this gratuitous display of joy.

I, as a sports fan, was disgusted.

Thankfully, someone stepped up. The ref called unsportsmanlike conduct for excessive celebration and pushed the huskies extra point attempt back 15 yards. BYU blocked the extra point, Washington fell to 0-2 and the integrity of college football was preserved. We can't allow this unabashed camaraderie to go unchecked, and I'd like to take this moment to thank the ref for standing up and doing what's right.