Blown call

Some sporting events require officials who need to make judgement calls.

Was the ball in or out? Was the player tagged? Did she catch that? Was that a push?

Inevitably, there will be blown calls. Sometimes it will matter just a little. Sometimes it will change the outcome of the event.

There are times when rulings can be challenged. But not always. Sometimes you just have to live with a bad call.

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Children who play sports have the grand opportunity to learn about this first-hand. Sometimes the bad call is in their favor. Sometimes it’s not. Either way, it does no good to yell at the official.

There might be formal channels to pursue when a player or team thinks they’ve been treated unfairly. But sometimes — often — there's no recourse.

For the kids who learn this early on, it's a valuable lesson. In the real world, sometimes you get the raw end of a bad call, and there are times when you can't do anything about it.

You can dwell on it and hang your head, or you can get back in the game and continue to play your best. You’re not always going to catch a bad call, but when you do — and it’s not the kind of thing that’s going to change your life — it might be okay to just move on.