When asked what they want to be when they grow up, there aren’t too many kids who answer that being a referee is their dream career. It’s perfectly understandable: They don’t want to be the person that opponents come together to hate. They don’t want to be confronted in front of thousands of people, nor do they want to be confronted alone at their car. They want glory, or at least popularity, from their choice. And it’s not like officials’ decisions are making SportsCenter’s Top 10 on a regular basis.
For all the negative sides off officiating, it’s no shocker that one out of three soccer referees in Minnesota are in their first year.