An excerpt from Howard Sprague's editorial about Andy's umpiring Opie's Little League game:

"Why does a man take a job as umpire and expose himself to all kinds of abuse? I know why one man in particular did it. His reason is because he was asked to, as a favor. He wasn't particularly anxious to do it because his son happened to be playing on the team and he didn't want to run the risk of not being completely impartial. It seems to me that once a man is asked to handle a job like that, any decisions he makes - right or wrong - should be accepted in the spirit of good sportsmanship."