Basketball Fans: A Quick Lesson

The goal of an official is not to call 10 fouls for Team X and 10 fouls for Team Y. That's a common misconception fans have held presumably since the beginning of basketball.

If you've been to a basketball game, you've heard a fan shout, "They only have three fouls; we have seven! What the &*%$!"

So, what that means, good fan, is that the other team hasn't fouled your guys as much as your guys have fouled them. Instead of worrying about the foul tally, watch the game and boo if there's a perceived foul that isn't called (or is called -- against your team).

Referees are human. Usually, anyway. They will call a foul if they see one. It's their judgment. They don't look up at the scoreboard and say, "Gee, we've called 10 fouls on those guys and only four of the other guys. Let me even that out."

That's not how it works. A foul is a foul. If a ref sees it, they'll call it. If they don't, a coach (or player) is chewing their ear off for missing it, and they'll probably hook your team up with a sweet makeup call at some point.

I understand that half the purpose of going to a game is to take your anger out on the referee, especially if your club is losing. So, scream all you want. But in the back of your head, just remember that there is a reason the ref isn't calling fouls evenly one way or another. It's because they aren't keeping a tally.

They call it like they see it.

And that's all you should ask for.