It’s hard enough to referee huge fast really good competitive Division I athletes. But it’s going to be emotional because of Senior Night. It’s going to be a packed house. The fans are going to intensely desperate for a huge win over Gonzaga to boost ranking and Tournament resume. Students are going to be loud and relentless and sober and cranky after sleeping in tents and getting no sleep and knowing they have to teach a Priesthood lesson at 8:00 the next morning that they haven’t prepared for yet. People are going to be mad if things go bad after they spent hundreds of post-tithing dollars on tickets. And the home team is likely to lose; if they’re playing well, chances it will be a close game with intense final possessions with every call or non-call being heavily scrutinized. There’s a small chance that Elder Oaks or Holland might be there and they’re not going to want to perform badly in front of the apostles.

I’m serious, I already feel bad for them. They’re going to hear a ton of “fricks” and “flips” and “effs” and “dagnabbits” and even a few legitimate cusses thrown in as well.

I like BYU’s chances in this environment. The refs can call it slightly in BYU’s favor. The fans will love them for the heroic calls and they know that they’re not affecting the conference title race or anything. They know a close loss at BYU won’t seriously damage Gonzaga’s tournament seeding.

The refs have it easy. Just call it slightly in BYU’s favor and everything will be a-okay.