IMHO, there are some situations where the 'human' side of us can prevail. If there is an award or tribute being made in pregame , glance at the coaches & players of the visiting team. If they are applauding, you could too. I was backed into a very awkward situation several years ago and lived to tell about it:
SCENE : Homecoming with home school's athletic hall of fame inductees during halftime. One of the inductees posthumously was a basketball & softball official that I knew him and his wife well. His wife would accept the award and would be escorted to midfield by a crusty ole' basketball ref.
ACT I : Late in 1st half, score, PAT kick into pucker brush;
Home AD urgently calls me over : "We need help, the widow's escort forgot to show up, and she
wants to know if you could
?"
ME : "Before I can say yes, I need to ask (visiting AD) if he would be bothered
"
V-AD: "It wouldn't bother me, but I can't say for our fans
!"
ME: "I guess I have to chose between being a human and being a ref
"
V-AD: "YOU BE A HUMAN.. I'll take care of our fans
!"
ACT II: HALFTIME
Fortunately we were in our current fashion as knickers would have stuck out, hat,flag,beanbag and such were in possession of ump . My black jacket was pulled up as high as possible.
. I met her under the goalpost and set the ground rules.
ME : "I'll be on the home side of the field and the PA will only announce you. Once we get to midfield for the presentation, I'll leave before your acceptance speech.
"
SHE : "Thank you for your kindness, (deceased husband) is looking down on us and is proud
."
ACT III : 2nd HALF
I didn't hear a peep from the visiting sidelines or fans until I
a hometeam runner for spiking the ball after gaining a first down.
V-FAN: "If you keep making that call, ref, we'll put you in our hall of fame, too
!"
I don't feel it's a good idea to respond to fans, but I couldn't resist and gave a
.
They cheered.
EPILOUGE: A few days later I received a nice letter from the widow ,thanking me for responding to her awkward request. She stated that it was the happiest moment that she has had since her husband passed. I felt humbled that I was able to be part of that.
DISCLAIMER : This was performed by a crusty ole' ref, who didn't know better than to say yes. Caution before trying this at home.