4The Daily Tar Heel Tuesday, April 7, 1987
Prt
14 mm easy
ACC referees make the best of a difficult task
By KATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The men in the striped uniforms they're tough,
they're experienced and they dont fool around. They Ye
had years of training for their job and only the best
get to the top. The best of the basketball referees, that
is.
Taunts and jeers from angry fans don't discourage
rcfs from doing their job. In fact, they seem not to notice
the insults hurled their way from loud and obnoxious
people.
"Man, you're a Cyclops and you're blind in one eye,"
yells one irate basketball fan. The insult rolls off the
ACC basketball referee like water off a duck's back.
Two Atlantic Coast Conference referees reflected on
the flak from fans that seems to come with the courts.
"Negative comments dont bother me, 1 don't take .
things personally," says ACC referee Rusty Herring, who
refereed most recently in the UNLV-Indiana NCAA
tournament game. "It doesnt matter who's in the striped
jersey."
The pressure from fans doesn't get to ACC official
Joe Forte, either. Fdrte says he feels no outside pressure
when refereeing a game, even a national championship.
"It's something within, so far as wanting to be as
good as I possibly can," Forte says. "I know exactly
what my limitations and capabilities are and I am
extremely disappointed if I dont live up to them. For
us not to work as hard as the coaches and players, coming
up short isn't right."
It's a privilege to be an ACC referee. With only 33
referees from Syracuse to Miami, according to Herring,
ACC refereeing is a goal for many high school and small
college league refs.
Herring, an insurance salesman who lives in Durham,
played three sports in high school, but always harbored
a love for basketball. When he was first married, Herring
refereed basketball on the side for a little extra money.
Herring progressed through high school officiating
to the freshman program at UNC, which gives young
refs exposure at summer camps. There, referees are
recruited by the ACC almost as frequently as the high
school star athletes they officiate.
"It's a matter of experience, getting the right people
to see you and to trust your ability," says Herring, a
nine-year ACC veteran.
Forte, who manages a frozen food department for
a company that sells to military commissaries, agreed
with Herring's assessment that being an ACC official
is something of an honor.
WERE FIGHTING FOR NOUR LIFE
(p American Heart Association
Forte has refereed six ACC tournaments, four Final
Four games and two national championships
including this year's Syracuse-Indiana game. Forte calls
being picked to officiate a championship game "a
tremendous honor.".
Forte says he enjoys being part of an athletic challenge
and performing on the high level to which the basketball
players aspire.
"I just really enjoy the game of basketball," Forte
says. "It's very challenging, being able to go into a facility
and be a part of such a great league . . . and being
able to perform at the level they perform. I enjoy being
part of the challenge."
Staying in shape is part of staying in the game of
refereeing. A referee must be in good physical condition
to keep up with superior college athletes.
Herring goes to pre-season referee camps to keep in
shape, while Forte runs, jumps rope and swims for his
pre-season shape-up. He also watches his weight all year
round.
Herring says he likes the recent addition of a three
man system of officiating basketball games. Having three
referees allows better court coverage and helps to keep
the referees fresher. He says the system allows officials
to be more into the game at the end, both mentally
and physically.
ACC referees officiate about 40 games per season and
they ususally dont miss their regular jobs. The only
disadvantage of officiating an ACC game, according to
Herring, is not getting to enjoy the game as much as
the spectators do, because of having to concentrate on
the action.
Forte refereed while Michael Jordan performed in
the ACC and called Jordan a fascinating player.
"It's fun to ref for Jordan, (Joe) Wolf, Tommy Amaker
and Johnny Dawkins," he says. "It helps officials in
the ACC because the players are so good it makes
you rise to the occasion or you will fall flat on your
face."
Referees never stop learning or practicing their craft.
Forte says that a referee must learn about officiating
in order to do it better.
"You have to work at it. You have to study the tapes
and be open to criticism that is helpful," Forte says.
"You have to have the attitude that you want to learn
from every experience."
If you're not willing to to be aware of your weaknesses
as an official, others will do it for you. At every game,
checkers from the ACC office sit in the stands and take
notes on the referee's performance. These notes are then
sent to the referee or to league supervisor Fred Barakat
for evaluation of the refs performance.
Although an official's job also leaves him open to
the jeering evaluation of fans bent on victory, Herring
doesn't plan to let anything keep him off the court.
He says officiating will be in his future as long as
he continues to enjoy it and his legs hold up.
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Tar Heef file photo
Dean Smith and ACC referee Joe Forte (right) wait out a power failure in Carmichael Auditorium in 1982
Sarge part of Boshamer milieu,
making the ballpark come alive
By LARRY NEEDLE
Special to the DTH
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game."
If a song were ever meant for
someone, this baseball anthem was
meant for Bob "Sarge" Keefer,
public address announcer at North
Carolina's home baseball games. The
71 -year-old fan has a lifetime full of
sports memories, but that's not
enough for Keefer. He still loves
going to the ball game, and doesn't
care if he never gets back.
"1 love sports. It's practically my
whole life," Keefer said. "I like to
be close to the thing, not just up in
the stands. This way, you're a part
of the show."
And it's quite a show he puts on
for the crowd at Boshamer Stadium.
During the seventh-inning stretch,
Keefer really takes center stage.
Since he began announcing UNC
games in 1979, he has led the fans
in "Take Me Out to the Ball Game,"
a tradition which has become known
as Sing Along with Sarge.
"1 couldn't believe that when
seventh inning came they didn't sing
it," he said. I just don't feel it's a
ball game unless you sing."
Keefer's announcing career began
on a softball field in a Cleveland,
Ohio, suburb almost 50 years ago.
Since then, he's announced nearly
every sport imaginable, while work
ing 44 years for General Electric and
serving four years in the Army:
Sporting glasses and a gray, flat
top haircut, he told of his years as
P.A. announcer for the Cleveland
Indians in the 1960's and 70's. "It
was the opening game against Mil
waukee, and Don Money hits a
grand slam for them in the ninth
inning," said Keefer, who worked
from a fenced-in table adjacent to
the visitors' dugout. "The fans are
booing like mad as he's on his way
back to the dugout, when all of a
sudden something hits me in the
temple. 1 look down and there's a
paring knife."
Announcing from field level also
had its advantages for Keefer, who
announced the 1963 All-Star Game
in Cleveland. "I got to know and talk
with the players a lot, and got a good
rapport with them," he said.
Like all public address
announcers, Keefer has had his share
of bloopers over the years. "One time
the umpires asked me to make an
announcement and I said, 'Will the
fans in the front row please remove
their clothing.' What 1 meant was
that they should take their coats off
the railing, but somehow it came out
wrong."
After living in Cleveland his entire
life, Keefer tired of the miserable
weather and moved with his wife of
44 years to Chapel Hill in 1978.
Basketball, his real love (he
announced Cleveland Cavaliers'
games for six years), was one of the
main reasons he ended up in North
Carolina.
"When I was in Cleveland I didn't
know anybody in Chapel Hill," he
said. "But I would watch UNC
basketball on TV and say, 'Boy, this
team is well-coached, they're well
behaved. They just play basketball
and do their thing."
Upon arriving in Chapel Hill,
Keefer served as checker at the
Ehringhaus Training Table, where
he was responsible for matching
names and faces. No problem.
Before long, Sarge knew everybody
and everybody knew Sarge.
He gained his nickname shortly
after beginning his new job. The
previous checker was called "Cap
tain," so when Keefer, an ex-Army
sergeant, joined the staff, he was
tagged with the moniker
immediately.
Keefer and the athletes hit it off
from the start. "The part I liked
about that job was the kids," he said.
"I used to kid them back and forth.
We exchanged jokes and things. I
got along with most of them. But
the ones that wouldn't obey, of
course they didn't like me and I
didn't like them."
Two years ago, Keefer, a self
proclaimed workaholic, took on
added duties as a courier for the
UNC Athletic Department. Besides
baseball, he also announces women's
soccer, gymnastics, field hockey and
volleyball games for the Tar Heels.
The quiet retiring life wouldn't be
right for the grandfather of five. "IVe
seen people retire at 65 and not know
what to do with themselves," he said.
"Their health starts to fail and they
just start feeling sorry for
themselves."
Sarge has had his own health
problems. He recently suffered a
near heart attack and is a victim of
chronic arthritis, but doesn't have
any time to feel sorry for himself.
He's too busy, announcing games,
telling stories, enjoying life.
And if you're around some nice
spring afternoon, buy yourself some
peanuts and Cracker Jacks and go
hear Sarge out at the old ball game.
Sports info looking for help
Okay, pretend you're watching
television and all of a sudden this
commercial comes oh the tube. Men
and women with painted faces and
blackboard pointers flash across the
screen. In the background, some
dude with a very deep, patriotic voice
tells you that ...
The UNC department. of sports
information is presently taking
applications for student assistants
for next fall.
Only underclassmen are eligible
and a background in sports journal
ism is required. Interested individ
uals should contact Dave Lohse at
the Sports Information office at the
Smith Center.
We're looking for a few good
people, with the mettle to be student
assistants in the UNC department of
sports information.
You lean back in your easy chair
and think, "Hey, that could be me
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CAROLINA UNION
CURRENT ISSUES
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Summer job openings for Camp counselors at Camp Sea Gull (boys) and Camp Seafarer (girls)
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P.O. Box 10976
Raleigh, NC 27605
(919)832-6601
Behind
University Square
929-7143
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