The coach has thrown the red flag and challenged the spot of the football. The manager has challenged the umpire’s out call at first base. The official’s call that the basketball was out of bounds was challenged by the head coach. The goal in professional sports is perfection, to make every close call by an official the correct call by use of video review.

I’ve seen a TV commercial where there is a disagreement between a husband and wife as to who left the sunroof open in the car. He says he did not. She says he did. She pulls out a red flag and challenges his opinion and a video review proves him wrong.

We have this human drive to be perfect. Get straight A’s in school. Paint the living room wall so there is no splotch of color that touches the white ceiling. Cook a spaghetti and meatballs dinner with the pasta done at exactly the al dente time and the sauce has just the right amount of spices to enhance the flavor.

I use these examples because that was me, striving for perfection. If I got a B on my report card, I was disappointed. Although no one would ever see the drop of color paint where the white ceiling meets the wall, every time I looked up there, I certainly saw it. Cook the pasta just a little too long, my brain wouldn’t allow me to enjoy the meal as much as I should. I’ve since given up “being perfect” and what a relief it is.

It seems to me that only in college and professional sports is there a demand for perfection. We might say we have the perfect marriage, but we don’t. The perfect sunny day for one is too hot for another. The pool temperature is an ideal 78 degrees, but that’s too cold for this one or that one.

It’s exhausting and futile to be perfect and failure to achieve it leaves us with disappointment and frustration. Yet sports, particularly baseball which I have loved for my whole life, is hypocrisy. It must have perfection despite the fact that everyone on the field is imperfect. Hitters who fail 70 percent of the time to get base hits are paid millions of dollars. So are pitchers who allow more than three runs per nine innings, which is no better than average. Yet we have to get every pitch and out or safe call right by the umpires who make mistakes. In some minor leagues, a manager can now challenge a ball or strike call by the home plate umpire and if the lazar strike zone review proves the umpire wrong, it changes the batter’s count.

Years ago, a Detroit Tiger, Amando Galarraga, was one out away from pitching a perfect game. No batter reached base for the first 26 outs of the game. The 27th batter was called safe by the first base umpire on a ground ball when he was clearly out. This happened before the MLB put in video review so the wrong call stood. The umpire saw his mistake on a TV replay and he felt awful. The next day, Galarraga met the umpire at home plate for a very emotional moment. He shook the hand of the teary-eyed man in blue. It was an emotional an act of courage and forgiveness in front of thousands at the game and thousands more watching on TV. Galarraga had acknowledged a human mistake and in that sense, he was saying you, me, and everyone else are not perfect.

Author Roy T. Bennett wrote, “It takes guts and humility to admit mistakes. Admitting we’re wrong is courage, not weakness.”

A few months ago, a high school basketball player from Manasquan scored a basket just before the horn that ended the game to defeat Camden. With no video review to prove the shot went in before the buzzer, the officials made a mistake and said the shot was too late and they awarded the win to Camden. The next day, the NJSIAA agreed that the officials were wrong, but did not overturn the result to give the win to Manasquan.

My first reaction was that Manasquan should have been declared the winner, but then I thought, no, let the result stand. Once again it was human error and Manasquan was declared the winner. Yes, it’s a painful experience for the winning team that lost, but once again the lesson taught is human error must be accepted as a part of life.

I coached football for many years and we lost a game when an official ruled a touchdown on the last play when the running back of the team we were playing was clearly tackled on the one yard line. Even the opposing coach agreed we should have won. Of course, I thought, that the kids on my team were robbed of victory. But after some contemplation, at practice the next day, I told my players that they make mistakes, I make mistakes. Everyone does. It’s a part of life and humans will always be imperfect.

I’m going to watch a high school baseball game today. The pitcher will not throw all strikes. The hitters will swing and miss and strikeout. There’s a good chance, a fielder will make an error. But the umpires are expected to be perfect with their balls, strikes, and safe and out calls. If one is not, there’s bound to be a fan screaming at him.

Only those who are perfect should have the right to criticize those who are not.

Rich Strack can be reached at richiesadie11@gmail.com