Weekdays, as IST’s human resources manager, Chris Fivek ensures a level playing field for faculty and staff, ruling on issues and refereeing conflicts. On Friday nights, Fivek takes his expertise to a different venue − high school football stadiums across central and western Pennsylvania. The referee behind the linebackers, Fivek is one of seven officials who make the split-second calls that decide the outcome of a game.
“Being a referee has helped me as a parent, a husband and in my job − I’ve had to acknowledge mistakes, stand by decisions, and stay calm when things escalate and emotions get out of hand,” said Fivek, who’s in his 16th year as a referee. “It’s made me more of a professional.”
A member of the State College Area Football Officials Association, Fivek is on a crew of referees who have been together for the past eight football seasons. While they have officiated some district games and a Western Regional final since Fivek joined the crew, they have not yet had a shot at the Big One: Refereeing one of the four state championship games.
That honor is tied to weekly evaluations by state athletic officials who watch from the stands to see how crews handle plays as well as cross-town rivals, disappointed players and coaches, and sometimes angry fans.
“You don’t do this for the money, and sometimes the abuse scares you,” Fivek said. “But it’s a passion, and we try intensely for the perfect game each week.”
Growing up, Fivek pitched Little League through high school baseball and wrestled, but football was his love. He played Division III ball at Albright College. Unwilling to sit in the stands after graduation and not wanting to coach, Fivek decided to suit up as a referee.
He didn’t step right onto the gridiron.
After passing a four-hour written test, Fivek earned his black-and-white stripes refereeing PeeWee football for five years in the Harrisburg area where he was living. The experience, he said, was essential in honing his “field” sight, so calls became instinctual.
From there, he went to junior high games and then high school games, officiating every level from A to AAAA. He’s also done some semi-professional league games, Penn State scrimmages and best of all − Washington Redskins summer camps at Dickinson College in Carlisle.
“The size and speed of professional players is unbelievable,” Fivek said. “But some of the best games I’ve officiated have been single A.”
Much as he loves the game, Fivek has seen its seamier side: athletes who mouth off, coaches who value winning over playing fairly, disgruntled fans. He recalls one elderly grandmother who spit in his face after a game.
“Sometimes people need a reason for why they lost a game,” Fivek said philosophically. “Instead of saying, ‘We didn’t win,’ it’s easier to say, ‘It was the ref’.”
But he’s also seen the good side: Coaches who pull their athletes out of the game for not playing fairly and coaches who don’t want to run up scores.
Fivek also rates high the other men on his crew whom he described as “brothers.” It’s not the just the time they spend together − every Friday afternoon and evening from mid-August through November as well as weekly Tuesday night meetings. The crew has a bond forged on respect for each other’s dedication and abilities and trust each will do his best every game.
“At half-time, we’ll have heated discussions, but they don’t go outside our ‘family’,” Fivek said. “When we leave to go to dinner after the game, we talk about what happened, and we heal the wounds.”
Fivek and his crew didn’t receive the call they’d been hoping for − to officiate one of the state championship games in early December. For Fivek, the disappointment is countered by the chance to spend a Friday night at home with his wife Marianne and nine-year-old daughter, Emma.
But it won’t be too long before Fivek starts dreaming about next season.
“Around February, you just can’t wait for August to come,” Fivek said.
*mah*
