skip navigation

Officially Speaking: Nameplates

04/20/2018, 12:45pm CDT
By Mark Lichtenfeld

Referee nameplates represent the individuality of every particular official

Nameplates.

They’re cool. Sleek. 

Nameplates represent the individuality of every particular official. Take them away and the game loses a piece of its character.

Oh, that last sentence – it’s a quote from a pair of former NHL referees, as personally told to OS in the dreary confines of the Las Vegas Ice Center referees’ room.

Yeah, those NHL guys are on to something. So OS is in good company.

I love nameplates. But too many guys don’t. I can’t understand why. Oh sure, I hear the usual retorts, like “I don’t want the fans screaming my name” or other lame excuses.

Hey, if you don’t want people to know you’re out there, then just stay home. Ditch this business.

And trust me, they’re gonna know who you are anyway.

In fact, it’s great to showcase your name. Let me give you several reasons why this is so.

Initially, when you’re built the same way as a dozen other officials and your face is semi-hidden by a scratched-up half-shield, fans and players are often unable to tell you apart from the next guy.

Now, I can’t tell you how many times I have been accosted in a double-rink scenario whereby I am coming in for the next contest and some parent accuses me of blowing the prior game for their kid’s low-level JV tournament game. And even when I tell them I just arrived at the rink for my first game, they think I’m lying because I look just like the other guy.

That’s one reason why we need nameplates.

Here’s another. Last week, less than 20 hours after arriving back in town from a hiatus in Chicago, I’m already at the Knights practice rink and as you can imagine, it’s an NHL pre-playoff zoo with reporters and hockey buzz everywhere. And wouldn’t you know, the NBC Channel 3 crew is doing a piece right along the glass at the game I was officiating. Suddenly, Facebook and social media is going wild since everyone sees me in their living rooms. How did they know it was me?

The nameplate, of course. And to my partner’s dismay, he was wearing his other jersey with no name and as far as the world was concerned, he could have been wasting his night away at Jackpot Joanie’s saloon because no one had any idea he was officiating a game on television.

Still not convinced? Let’s go back to OS’s Chicago trip. In the old days, us Illinois refs used to always wear nameplates for high school league games. But suddenly, we were prohibited from doing so. The reason, I was told – and mind you, this is hearsay and may not be accurate – is that a male or female referee was officiating a rough game and the fans were screaming out his or her name and the circumstances continued until he or she felt unsafe. Therefore, a ban on nameplates was instituted.

If this is true, it’s weak. Very weak. Nevertheless, while I was in town, the annual high school championship game was played at the United Center. Now, thanks to our local association and the Blackhawks, this game is always televised live. And it was always cool to be selected to ref that game because everyone in the city can see your nameplate, and it’s just a great experience. But like the former NHL refs said, taking away nameplates diminishes individuality. So watching the varsity championship game on television last month, I had no idea who the officials were, and if I couldn’t figure it out, then there’s no way Aunt Marge and Grandpa Joey could discern their relatives either. 

Too bad. A real shame.

Nameplates. There’s nothing wrong with them. The old NHL guys loved them. So if you’re scared to wear one, then maybe you’re in the wrong business. 

It’s like the old Zenith commercial from the 60s: “The quality goes in, before the name goes on.”

 

Questions and comments can be sent to editor@letsplayhockey.com, via Twitter @OSpeaking or through the Let’s Play Hockey Facebook page.

Top Stories

Tag(s): State Of Hockey  News  Officially Speaking