Instant Replay: The Death of Sports As We Know

            Last night I watched one of the best games I have ever watched as a sports fan. The box score was less than desirable for most casual watchers, but not to true fans. Did I witness a touchdown? Nope. But I did watch two team beat the hell out of each other for four quarters of defensive based football. However, it seemed that on cue every third play was brutally interrupted with fourty five seconds of referee huddles and reviews. This evening, after a long day at work I sit down to watch an NFL battle that could briefly be described as blood vs. guts. And again, seven and a half hours later I am falling asleep to the half time show (slight exaggeration about the time frame but barely). How have we gotten to the point where sixty minutes on the clock stretches FOUR HOURS?? At this point calling it ridiculous doesn't seem to due justice. Calling it a normal growth to the modernization of the game does though. Rewriting the rules to make sure that every scoring play is reviewed, re-reviewed and sent to a jury of my peers is just unnecessary. Maybe, and this is a huge maybe, if they got the play calling right every time after three minutes of deliberation, you could justify stopping the game constantly. I myself am a fan of the human error factor. Striving for perfection will lead to sensors on the sidelines and red lights on the end zones (sorry NHL, but it is a little odd). There are many a flaws with major league baseball, but the one issue they stand firm on is instant replay. Umpires aren't afraid to call a strike or a double play because they are the authority, 'nuff said. In football the scrutiny is so swollen that missing a call, or incorrectly calling a play mean you aren't voted to ref in a playoff game, or viewed as a sham. The referees are just as good at their jobs as the athletes they officiate, so why do we put next to no faith in them? The rules are what they are (I think they are soft and getting even softer) but interpreting said rules lies in the discretion of the men and women we put on the field, and that's where it should stay. Give the refs their field, and give me my game back.