Your job is to umpire for the ball and not the player.
Bill KlemRead
The best umpired game is the game in which the fans cannot recall the umpires who worked it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A well-officiated game is one where the referees or umpires do not draw attention to themselves.
Bill Klem's quote emphasizes that the ideal scenario in sports officiating is when the umpires perform their duties so effectively and unobtrusively that their presence goes unnoticed by fans. This suggests that a good umpire facilitates fair play and enhances the experience of the game without overshadowing the athletes' performance.
Themes
UmpireSportsOfficiatingFairnessGame
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared at a sports officials' training seminar to highlight the importance of discretion.
More from Bill Klem
All quotes βSimilar quotes
Athletes are still exploited. If they blow out their knee, if they somehow don't meet the mandates of a coach, they lose their scholarship. They don't get their degree.
Cory BookerRead
Basketball may have been invented in Massachusetts, but it was made for Indiana.
Bobby KnightRead
I used to tease Joe Louis by reminding him that I was the greatest of all time. But Joe Louis was the greatest heavyweight fighter ever.
Muhammad AliRead
Basketball is an endurance sport, and you have to learn to control your breath; that's the essence of yoga, too. So, I consciously began using yoga techniques in my practice and playing. I think yoga helped reduce the number and severity of injuries I suffered. As preventative medicine, it's unequaled.
Kareem Abdul-JabbarRead
Football is now all about money. There are problems with the values within the game. This is sad because football is the most beautiful game. We can play it in the street. We can play it everywhere.
Johan CruyffRead
I watched Ali, studied Ali, and I studied Sugar Ray Robinson. I watched them display showmanship. I watched them use pizzazz, personality, and charisma. I took things from them and borrowed things from them because boxing is entertainment.
Sugar Ray LeonardRead