I feel terrible for this poor bastard. Gordon Riese, the instant replay official who missed the call at the end of the Oregon/Oklahoma game, is not doing well. He can’t eat, he can’t sleep, his blood pressure is through the roof, and some jackass Oklahoma fans are threatening his life, as well as his wife and children. He doesn’t know if he wants to return this season, or ever.
“I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, my blood pressure is skyrocketing,” Riese said, looking haggard and worn as he sat on the front porch of his house.
“They not only threatened me, they threatened my wife and kids,” Riese said.
“I don’t know how to deal with it,” he said. “I guess it’s just one of those things.”
That is entirely sickening, and clearly, the people responsible for the threats are mentally imbalanced and belong in a federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.
I don’t know what else to say, except I feel terrible for the guy. He made a mistake. A mistake, even, that wasn’t entirely his fault. For some reason, he only had one replay angle of it, and it wasn’t the replay that everyone saw on TV. He didn’t have a lot of time to review it, he couldn’t freeze the frame, and was being pressured by television and the official on the field to make a call.
Making things worse was OU’s president acting like a total jackass, asking that the loss be overturned and all of the officials suspended for the year. Why would the president of the university even care? He doesn’t have other things to worry about, like, oh, I dunno… academics? Or making sure Rhett Bomar is comfortable financially? Act like a university president, dickhead, and not a scorned fan.
Just a sad and ugly situation.
Andrew
Yeah, the refs fucked up the call. The refs didn’t give up the go-ahead touchdown; the refs didn’t block the potential game-winning field goal. I always hate it when people bitch about calls and make them an excuse. Instead of complaining, why don’t you just concentrate on playing and trying to win the fucking game!
September 20, 2006 at 3:22 am
Mike
These are Oklahoma fans we are talking about. They have nothing better else to do when they are (rightfully) pissed off.
September 20, 2006 at 4:48 am
Mark
Thanks, MJD. I also spoke up about this, albeit in far more blunt terms, on my own site.
Fans who threaten to kill umpires, refs, and their families need to be committed. No sports call, no matter how bad, justifies threatening the guy’s family, ever.
September 20, 2006 at 8:18 am
KP
The bigger question is why in the hell are they using instant replay in college if they only have one angle and can’t freeze the frame?
The dumbass OU fans should be threatening the boneheads that run the NCAA for implementing such a pathetic instant replay system.
September 20, 2006 at 9:33 am
Suss
Also wasn’t the ref’s head in the way on that blocked field goal?
..Oh, you say they blew the chance to win the game? I see.
September 20, 2006 at 9:43 am
Chucky Atkins Jr.
As far as threatening referees…yes, it’s stupid, wrong, ignorant, and all of that stuff…but have any of these threats ever come to fruition? Have any of these idiots ever carried out a threat on a ref, coach, player, or any other sports-related figure? Regardless, I guess that sort of thing can still shake you up. In college, I received a ridiculous death threat from a dude who accused me of disrespecting his girl. The kid turned out to be some 120-pound assbag who couldn’t hurt a fly, but the shit still made me very nervous at the time.
September 20, 2006 at 10:33 am
King Dan
I lost money and bragging rights and I’m not even that pissed. To be honest, I was over it by Sunday. Shit happens, people need to grow up and focus on things that matter.
September 20, 2006 at 11:14 am
twoeightnine
Yes they have: Andres Escobar. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/hof/escobar/
September 20, 2006 at 11:18 am
BA
Is Barry Switzer still the president of OU?
September 20, 2006 at 4:23 pm
Mr Furious
“OU”
As in “Oh, you bunch of douchebags.”
September 20, 2006 at 4:52 pm
Dave
The President of OU you were referring to is former Sen. David Boren, and he’s been acting like a total assclown. I guess he learned a lot about statesmanship and mature behavior from his former job.
I also place a pile of blame at Bob Stoops’ feet. He just won’t stop whining and piss-moaning about the game. You know what, you made your point, Bob, you were kind of jobbed on the loss. You weren’t going undefeated anyway, and the BCS will probably give you the benefit of the doubt out of pity now. So, can we start acting like an adult yet? This guy is supposed to be educating these “student-athletes” about life, character, etc. I guess that’s just too hard for him.
September 20, 2006 at 10:37 pm
The Big Picutre
high blood pressure, huh? this guy could be in a commerical…though that may not be the high-profile thing this guys wants to be doing.
September 20, 2006 at 10:39 pm
James
Fuck him, he should be losing sleep. He should nto be threatened but I hope it does gnaw at him.
The PAC 10 says he had every view available so he is also a liar.
http://www.sportspages.com/editable/feedbackpage.shtml
September 22, 2006 at 11:17 pm