I know not every association assigns games by crew (i.e. where you work with the same people each week) and some states actually don’t allow crews period. But I’ve always been curious why football officiating in general tends to have a culture where you work with the same group each week, from the NFL down to high school.
Basketball officials work with different partners every night. Baseball umpires have a different crew for each series. Yet in football the culture of “my crew” persists even as mechanics are standardized and governing bodies have gotten more strict about everyone doing everything the same way.
I bring this up because I have noticed more so this season than others how complacent guys who’ve “been working together for 20 years” frequently become, to the detriment of the game. Things like lazy mechanics, penalty administration that no one steps up to correct, “we do it this way” culture, etc.
It really doesn’t seem like working with the same guys/gals each week serves any purpose anymore other than comfort and “the way we’ve always done it.”
