Most experienced referees will tell you that their idea of a perfect game is when the game is finished no one remembers the names of the officials. It means they just did the job and let the players perform. Most of the time we find ourselves in the limelight because of a tough call or some other on floor event. However occasionally an official gets recognized in a positive manner.
Tonight is one of those rare but very important times. One of our members is being inducted into a sports hall of fame. The official I'm referring to is our own Bob Fettig.
Bob is a long standing member of the SABOA who has served the association faithfully for an extended period of time. As on floor official Bob represented our board at numerous provincial championships as well as representing our province at numerous national championships including an appointment to the then CIAU (now CIS) women's national finals.
Bob held numerous executive positions with our association, served on the ABOA executive and is now an evaluator with the provincial evaluation committee. On the floor Bob was always known for his great rapport with coaches and players, his hard work and hustle in every game and without a doubt he was the gold standard when it came to signals. Numerous education officers would encourage young officials to watch Bob and try and copy his calm demeanor, crisp signals and relaxed manner on the floor. Few could ever reach the level Bob had set but he was still a great role model for so many of our current officials.
One of the highest compliments I can pay to Bob is that he never took a game off regardless of where the game was being played, varsity or jv, girls or boys, big school or small gym with just a few rows of bleachers. When Bob took the floor he made sure that the players and coaches got to see a top flight official who treated their game as if it was the most important thing at the time because for Bob it was. One of the most famous athletes of all time was the baseball player Joe DiMaggio. When asked why he always gave his best effort regardless of the score DiMaggio said “There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best.” I think these words also sum up Bob's approach to officiating. He never took a play off because he always felt he owed the players his best regardless of how many times he had officiated their game. He owed them his best and he never failed to deliver.
Bob is a long time resident of Taber and on April 21st Bob will be the first official inducted into the Taber Sports Hall of Fame. Please mark the date on your calendars as I hope we can have a large turnout of officials in Taber to recognize and honor one of our really outstanding officials and an even better gentlemen - Bob Fettig.