Letters

I don't think that paying admission gives one license to abuse the refs.
PAUL JOHNSON, NORTH SIOUX CITY. S.DAK.

The Ref
I was moved by Rick Reilly's article about high school referee Kenny Wilcoxen (When Your Dream Dies, Dec. 26-Jan. 2). As a former college basketball player and four-sport letterman in high school, I have experienced my share of what I felt was poor officiating. It wasn't until I started working college intramural basketball games that I began to appreciate how difficult the job is.

Most of the people who yell at refs don't understand the game well enough to recognize a good call when it is made. I commend Wilcoxen and others like him for their dedication and thank them for making the calls night in and night out as they see them, right or wrong.
DAN McKEON, Bakersfield, Calif.

Reilly's story is one that every coach, player and fan should read. Most officials are hardworking, underpaid individuals who are out there because they love the game. Coaches who play to the crowd, players who argue every call, and parents and fans who heap abuse on officials must begin to take responsibility for many of the problems with organized sports.
JAMES WEDDING, Fordsville, Ky.

The No. 1 problem with kids' sports today is adults who make the games the focus of life. No matter which side of the stripes one is on, everyone—the fan, the player and even the official—needs to remember it's only a game.
TIM HADLEY, Lubbock, Texas

A referee is the only impartial person on the field of play. The players, coaches and fans see things only one way—their way.
GENE F. PISCITELLI JR., Lewisville, N.C.

Shame on the Illinois High School Association for not standing behind Wilcoxen.
PETER J. LYONS, Providence, R.I.

The Bowls
After scoring both the tying and winning touchdowns in the Orange Bowl (Ghost Busters, Jan. 9), Cory Schlesinger dropped the ball in the end zone and immediately went to his Nebraska teammates to celebrate the team success. Miami's players, in stark contrast, consistently practiced sophomoric puffery celebrating individual success. The best team prevailed and the influence and class of Tom Osborne, gracious in victory as in defeat, was evident. Perhaps traditional values in sports are making a needed comeback.
GARY J. HERBEK, Smithfield, Va.

It's bad enough that the pollsters awarded the national championship to Nebraska because they finally won a bowl game after seven losses in a row, but to have SI devote a measly 1� pages to Penn State's bowl victory and undefeated season is absurd (A Cause C�l�bre, Jan. 9). Additionally, no mention was made of Joe Paterno's record 16th bowl victory and of his becoming the first coach to win all four major bowls. Nebraska fans can celebrate Tom Osborne's first title, but Penn State fans will celebrate Paterno's sixth.
JOHN A. ACKIEWICZ, Leola, Pa.

One of the nicest moments of the Miami-Nebraska game occurred when the academic records of the Cornhusker offensive linemen were flashed on the television screen—outstanding! It proved that in this instance, at least, there really are some student-athletes. (Sad to say, however, there was no corresponding flash of the Hurricanes' line.)
JOHN A. MACADIE, Norwich, Conn.