Opinions.. sure. You (and I mean you and several others on this thread) are going to feel that you are never going get this because you are under the misconception that some umpires intentionally are calling it one way. While something may unconsciously affect a call (because everyone has unconscious biases and are human), there are as close to ZERO officials that ever, ever do this (unless you have been a total *#*#* and caused it).
You may be getting what you describe already, but while you continue to go to games with a preconceived opinion and expectation of what is happening, you are more biased about this than you are claiming the officials might be.
I have umpired 4 different sports over 30 years at all levels and in that time I have seen an umpire consciously favor a team a total of 4 times. 99.99999% of officials go into games hoping to call a great, fair game no matter the teams.
I am not saying you are not getting crappy, unprepared umpires - you may well be. I am not saying you aren't getting bad calls. But they aren't changing umpires between innings, so the other team is getting them as well.
Until your are willing to change your mental attitude, it wont matter how much you pay. Because basically the only way this would work which would make you happy would be for you to pay for calls to go your way.
(and yes as you go through the ranks you will see better and better umpires, whose job gets harder and harder as the game is faster and more things happen quicker and things you don't see in younger ages happen all the time - which means all the same issues happen just on different types of plays)
Edit: Adding one thing> The ONLY umpires I can't stand are the ones who are not out there trying. If they are hustling, making position, and doing the best job they are capable of (just like I ask of our players) then I find I can deal with lesser umpires much easier even if they make a poor call. That may be because of my background of umpiring - you get into position, you use your mechanics correctly and the call is much easier. It is when you half-rear it, you are disrespecting the game and it is something under their direct control on game day.
By your immediate opinion, you just quantified my origional question. Your inital comments are what I experience some of the the time with umps, you don't know me, but imply I expect to be treated unfairly. That was never the intention of the post.
Heres how, by assuming I have a mental bias on what is occuring. What I have is experiences in dealing with these issues, a lot. I merely expect a job, any job, to be done correctly. If it can't be, repeatedly, by a person, then they should increase their training or leave that profession.
You and I don't know each other from Adam, but to assume that the only thing that would make me happy is to pay for calls to go my way, is a fairly offensive assumption.
I DO expect to pay an entry fee, and for that entry fee to go towards having officiating that is CALLED FAIRLY FOR BOTH SIDES, AND WITHIN PROSCRIBED RULES.
If we are getting beat, and the rules are be enforced as written and on both sides, then clearly we are not the better team that day.
The problem is the umpires that do not allow protests, are unwilling to discuss their interpretation of the rules, that are lazy, do not hussle to their spots, and could care less about doing it right. Those are the ones I have a problem with.
The best umpire we have in our area, does rec to travel to HS games. He's 74 years old. He enforces the rules, he hustles to his spot, everytime, his strike zone his more consistent than an atomic clock, I LOVE this guy, and I make sure I tell him every game we have him how much I appreciate his game calling.Unfortunatley, this gentleman is an exception, in our area.
I posted this question(s) for open dialect on what I see as a major concern for all who love the game. Maybe it's just our area, I don't know, that's why I asked.
Flame on.