It isn’t easy wearing stripes.

The NFL replacement referees did their best impression of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday Night Football, crumbling under pressure when it mattered most.

Unlike the Pirates, it’s hard to blame them.

They’re attempting to uphold the integrity of a business worth billions of dollars, while facing intimidation from thousands of screaming fans, world-class millionaire athletes and coaches with egos that can hardly fit in the stadium.

It’s not exactly the best work environment for unqualified officials trying to adjust to the fastest brand of football known to man.

The regular referees need to be back on the field as soon as possible. We all know that.

If the replacements have provided NFL fans with anything, it’s a new perspective in how difficult this job actually is.

At this point, it seems all 32 NFL cities will throw a parade when the referee lockout ends. We should extend the same appreciation to those who officiate amateur athletics.

High school athletes move at a fraction of the speed of professionals, but still, it’s far from an easy task.

Officiating is the most thankless job in sports.

Perfection is impossible, but even if it was achieved, there wouldn’t be a standing ovation after the game. In fact, it would probably go unnoticed. More likely, the referee would walk away to taunts from biased fans convinced the contest was poorly called.

I’ve been covering high school sports for a handful of years now and basketball is by far the most ruthless in terms of verbal abuse toward the officials.

Many calls are subjective and are bound to create frustration amongst players, coaches and fans who saw it a different way. But that doesn’t make it OK to take out that frustration on a guy just trying to do his job.

No matter which side of the bleachers I’m sitting on, I always seem to hear the words, “I didn’t know we were playing against refs tonight, too.”

That’s when the crowd is being nice.

It’s unnecessary treatment for providing a service to keep amateur athletics as fair and orderly as possible.

Trust me, I know.

Back in college, I was a referee for intramural sports.

It was a terrible idea.

Staying focused 100 percent of the time wasn’t easy. And whenever there was a close call, regardless of accuracy, I would hear all sorts of unprintable words from whichever team it hindered.

There were times I received so much backlash, I considered tossing my whistle to the player — or their friends on the sideline — and trot off the court. I guess the $6 an hour was simply too much to walk away from.

Here’s the shameful part: I was just as bad during my illustrious intramural playing career.

Before I put on the stripes myself, I would yell at referees like my flag football game was bigger than the Super Bowl.

I was an idiot.

Don’t be like me.

Officials at every level try to get every call right, even though they never will. Next time they’re jogging off the field of play, try saying thank you.

They deserve it.

Jason Orfao is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.