Rayza Ray: Bad for the game.

[Kram]

I reckon if you got a list of all the umpires in the AFL, he is easily in the top handful.

Sure he has a bit of a character, but at least he is known for that character and not being a rubbish umpire like some.

This, I'll take him umpiring Freo games anytime over most of the other bums and especially over the West Coast supporter Margetts that we get regularly.

Sure he still makes mistakes but far less than a lot of the others, his weakness really is in being a bit of a attention seeker is that absolutely everyone even casual fans know him and therefore remembers very well when he does get it wrong.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

 

[romeohwho]

He’s a very good umpire.

 

[iameviljez]

Simple answer to his egotistical umpiring - cut his mic. No audience then.
And he’s an umpire fffs. Supposed to be invisible.

How dare someone have two-fifths of a semblance of a personality. Let's face it, we ask umpires to not exist until we want to give them an absolute barrage of abuse, I'm not going to get too hot under the collar about the fact that he was heard coaching another umpire.

 

[iameviljez]

And, for what its worth, when it comes to the public treatment of umpires one of the worst things is that we forget they're human. Actually showing a fraction of personability and a sense of humour doesn't hurt. His reaction to copping one downstairs on the weekend was first-class.

 

[WestCoast05]

I like Razor Ray for the simple fact he's not too bad of an Umpire. Heaven forbid he should stand up for himself with the players instead of meekly being shat on and have a bit of personality as he goes about his job.

 

[Buzz Hawk]

How dare someone have two-fifths of a semblance of a personality. Let's face it, we ask umpires to not exist until we want to give them an absolute barrage of abuse, I'm not going to get too hot under the collar about the fact that he was heard coaching another umpire.

There’s a difference between having a personality and being an attention hogging non entity.
Rayza doesn’t get that.

 

[iameviljez]

There’s a difference between having a personality and being an attention hogging non entity.
Rayza doesn’t get that.

He's not an attention hog, just you and BT are over-sensitive.

Let's face it, we couldn't name one other umpire who actually has any form of personality.

 

[Buzz Hawk]

He's not an attention hog, just you and BT are over-sensitive.

Let's face it, we couldn't name one other umpire who actually has any form of personality.

That’s the point! I don’t want umpires to have a personality! I don’t want to even know they are there! They are not the main attraction! (Too many exclamation marks perhaps).


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[StevenwellerHFC]

We need to hear from the umpires more, I think it would be great if the umpires can do a press conference after each game.

 

[iameviljez]

That’s the point! I don’t want umpires to have a personality! I don’t want to even know they are there! They are not the main attraction! (Too many exclamation marks perhaps).

I honestly think that's detrimental for the umpires - then they just become faceless autobots that we don't know, but feel completely free to abuse the crap out of.

At the end of the day, the footy is always, and always has been, the centre of attention. Ray Chamberlain cracking a joke to a player, giving directions to another umpire or giving an "out" signal after being hit in the jatz crackers does not threaten that.

Umpires have been talking to players - and cracking jokes with them - since time immemorial. There is one rather good story of Ted Whitten in 1969 - Doug Wade has just kicked his 11th goal of the game to become the first Cat to kick 100 in a season, and of course there's a crowd invasion. The Dogs are about 11 goals behind. "Get these bloody kids off", says Whitten to the then-umpire Jeff Crouch, "we can still win this".

"My initials may be 'JC'", replied Crouch, "but I still can't perform miracles. You get them off."

 

[Buzz Hawk]

We need to hear from the umpires more, I think it would be great if the umpires can do a press conference after each game.

Mate, they'd be lambs to the slaughter!
Imagine the first question, "How could you possibly miss the blatant push in the back on Player X, at the 15 minute mark of the third quarter?"

What i would really like to see is full time umpires, then they could be really held accountable.