I received an interesting email that confirms we all saw bad officiating and might even feed into my husband’s conspiracy theory:

Commissioner Slive,
I know you care about the SEC and I know you love our tradition here in the Southeast. But sir in all fairness, the SEC officiating has really fallen off and I am at a loss to explain why the SEC Commissioner’s office does nothing. Many fans had hoped the video replay system would have fixed some of this, but it’s almost as if we can admit errors on the field anymore. More importantly the traditions of the SEC are ruined by poor officiating performances.

Take the performance of Steve Shaw’s team in the latest 3rd Saturday in October. They clearly missed five calls and ESPN was not that hard on the referees — but ESPN did speak the obvious. The botched fumble (where Eric Berry scored), how can the ball not be loose in his hands, when it pops out of his side the second his posterior hit the ground??? The ball was NOT tipped when one interference was overlooked and Lucas Taylor DID NOT INTERFERE on the last Tennessee drive in the first half. Holding was everywhere and it was almost POETIC to watch two SEC officials calling the SAME PLAY DIFFERENT WAYS IN EACH OTHER’s FACE — remember the catch out of bounds where one ref looked only at the FEET and NOT THE BALL??? The black official WOULD NOT LET a Birmingham native (the other UMP) make a call so obviously wrong. Watch that replay Mike, for 20 seconds or more one signaled “complete” and the OTHER SIGNALED “INCOMPLETE” — that call was the metaphor for Steve Shaw’s officials that night — clueless!!

STEVE SHAW’S CREWS INTERFERED with the general discourse and the outcome of that game. So our SEC officials live in Birmingham, raise their kids there and are influenced by all things Alabama. THEY SHOULD BE — they want to live there and be a part of the community. However, this DOES NOT promote the kind of “JUST WHAT I SAW” performances on the football field. Yes I know who Steve Shaw is and his so-called reputation — I believe he is BIASed period. I would not let him officiate Pop Warner football in my city.

Look Mike, what will it hurt to establish two official offices of SEC refs in two different divisions of the conference. Refs who live EAST UMPIRE ONLY (say Columbia, SC) in the WEST (except Championship games) and refs in the WEST (say Oxford, MS) UMPIRE ONLY IN THE EAST. Just do it for the fans, since you dont believe you have an issue based on your inaction, but watch the games go back to the SEC we all remember….

Personally I wish many umps and refs in the SEC would move on or try a little harder, but only the SEC office can fix what I call issues of the heart. I will never forget the pathetic job the SEC officials did last year in the Wake Forest postseason bowl game — I was embarrassed to be an SEC fan. With just a little evaluation of human nature however, I think our SEC issues become null and void. Right now however, I believe regionalism has run amuk.

Fix it Mike. Only you can…

Garrett Hauser
An SEC fan.

So there you have it.