This story is part of a current writing contest at the Friday Flash Fiction web site. To enter, one had to write a story that was at least loosely based on the visual prompt given in it. (Note: The picture on the site does not have alt text; here is what I would have included in it if I had developed the web page: Smiling referee in black and white vertically striped shirt on American football field looking up toward bleachers with a raised, relaxed fist.)

I dislike organized sports in general and I particularly detest violent ones, so coming up with a contest entry was quite a challenge, and writing from the umpire's point of view was even more so. Please let me know if you think I succeeded in meeting the challenge.

I don't have the first clue about football. But what I read is true for soccer as well. Whatever happens, it's the umpire's fault. With the single exception that his shirt has a different color. So, as far as I can tell, you did a fine job.

Hi Barbara,

Thanks for the feedback.

You probably know as much about American football as I do. I hadn't even realized until this challenge that the "judge" in the game was a referee and not an umpire. But since you know more about a different type of football then I do, you have a leg up on me.

Joy,
Lynn

Over the years I found out that it never hurts to know a little about soccer when faced with a bunch of male colleagues at lunch. Or if you're stuck with a male EMT in a car for an entire day. (In Germany the emergency doctors come to the patients, that was a job I had for six months.) If you know which team the local, ever losing soccer club has to face next and how badly they lost the last time, that can get you some kind of respect. And make life just a bit easier. Sometimes it also helps cheering up patients.
I'm not a fan, though.

But if you want to enjoy football, I strongly recommend the movie "Wildcats" with Goldie Hawn. That should make you smile.

Hi Barbara,

That makes sense.

Thanks for the recommendation, but I think I'll pass. I had enough horrendous experiences with organized sports while I was in school that I decided I never wanted to go anywhere near them again. And that includes watching any related entertainment. Which makes the fact that I wrote this story highly unusual; I would never have done so were it not for the challenge of the writing contest.

Be well,
Lynn

Too bad. Goldie Hawn plays a football coach who wants to train a male team. Everbody laughs at her, but she finally gets her chance with the high school team of a public school that has a bad reputation and is situated in one of the worst parts of town. The Headmaster of that school is hilarious and it's great to watch how she wins the respect of the boys. There is little violence and the football certainly doesn't play a main role. That's why I don't have the first clue about the game though I love the movie.

But whether you decide to give it a try is entirely up to you, of course. Be well.

Excellent tale, Lynn. Except for the shirt colors, the narrator's attitude would fit in any organized sport. I actually envisioned a basketball official (vertical black and white stripes) after a close foul call that went against the home team. But football certainly works.

Hello Terry,

Thank you, and welcome back. I hope your procedure went smoothly and that you are recovering well.

Joy,
Lynn