- My daughter would have been supremely furious to have you insult Dido...back when she (or both of them???) were about 17.
- On the extra refs, I think about it this way:
(a) the NFL needs four officials on-field to control the same number of players, who hit harder, and have complicated rules about what is a legal hit: "illegal contact" during a pass, roughing the passer, offensive or defensive pass interferance (is the pass in the air...is it catchable?), clipping, blocking downward at a defender's knees (used to be legal), "crack-back" blocking (also used to be legal), and our old favorite in both sports, snatching a handful of the opponent's jersey for a second or two.
(b) Gridiron football stops after after play, so players and refs can get set (and refs can take a breath)
(c) Soccer-football goes non-stop (aside from those infernal whistles) and players can be all over the pitch
(d) Mischief can happen -- does happen -- behind the referee, or at a long distance from the ref and the line-men. They miss a lot
(e) The game moves fast, especially when a shot approaches 70 / 80 mph and a pass maybe hits 40 mph (top speed). The ref has to look at the ball and how much else can he cover...especially at 50 yards distance?
(f) Finally (yes, Hurrah!

), I don't trust the players to clean up their act unless forced by the League. I saw US college players diving way back in the late '80 -- oh, my shin is broken!!!! -- and watched them sprinting as soon as play started. I've often read that diving was "unmanly" in English football, but introduced by Portuguese and Italians and other imports. Diving seems to have become taught, along with other skills. So, I think heavy punishment is needed. If not a red-card against he diver, how about awarded a goal to the other team? That should get some attention!