The Victors

…the baseball coach figured a guy who’d been watching football all of his life would be able to pick up the rules pretty quickly:

Start when the referee winds his arm.

Stop when an official signals to stop.

Stop when the ball hits the ground on an incomplete pass.

Stop when the runner goes out of bounds - after the official signals.

Stop then start when the official signals stop then start.

I must have looked mystified, because he decided to let me handle the play clock instead.

Hit this button to set it to :45 seconds. Do that at the start of play after a dead ball and start it when the ref signals.

Hit THIS button to set it to :25 seconds. Do that after the ball is spotted after a first down and when the official signals.

Set it to :45 immediately after a play that doesn’t result in a first down. Start it immediately.

I ended up selling 50/50 tickets instead.