In the line of fire

The Umpire, he is to football what a traffic cop is to life in the middle of a cities busiest intersection at lunch hour. Common knowledge tells us when there is a flag lying on the ground near the line of scrimmage, it’s probably his. His view begins with the backsides of the defensive line in front of him, over which he sees the monster arms and legs of five offensive linemen preparing to recoil.

There is only five yards separating him from the massive crash of bodies and the pure chaos that follows. The ball is snapped and his view suddenly becomes a swirl of hands, arms, torsos and legs as all hell breaks loose and the line of scrimmage becomes a massive collision.

Through all of this he’s mindful of the play and is watching for holding, tripping, cut blocking and illegal use of hands. Not once thinking about his own safety during these frantic couple of seconds of complete mayhem.

This is the untold life of a football Umpire, life in the fast lane of the IFL. Near the action, danger and goliaths of the sport, the umpire stands without any protective equipment and in close range of footballs most dangerous part of the field, the pit. The pit is referred to the area of the field where the offensive and defensive lines collide at the snap of the ball.

There are five officiating positions in the IFL, the Referee, who stands in the offensive backfield, the two Linesmen who stand on both sides of the line of scrimmage, the Back Judge who watches the secondary, and the Umpire. The Umpire regulates this area and enforces the rules for the biggest players on the field. He allows a controlled chaos to break out during whistle to whistle constantly enforcing the rules that are permitted to protect the giants in front of him and the linebackers behind him.

The Umpire’s job is really to police the line of scrimmage on every play, watching for holding and any other illegal activities that might go on. He is also tasked with following the quarterback if he scrambles out of the pocket to the vacated line of scrimmage all the while watching for holding.

The Umpire’s job is the most dangerous job of the five officiating positions in an IFL game. His stature and position is not for the weak or feint of heart, nor is it a position for those who are overly fearful for their own safety.

There are even some officials in college and the pros that said they would never become an Umpire. The Umpire is a very busy, responsible official. His job does have an element of danger to it, but if you ask any IFL umpire, they will tell you that there isn’t an umpire working in the IFL today who wants any other officiating job. They take pride in what they do and love enforcing footballs most dangerous area of the field.