The McKnight family appear to have missed out on all that "good stuff", but they have got the gene for refereeing.*
Sam McKnight is the fourth generation of whistleblowers in the McKnight family.
The 31-year-old agri-business manager grew up running the touchline for his father, Peter.
Peter was only doing what his dad, Neil, did before him.
And Neil followed his father, Terry, into the gig.
Essentially, there has been a McKnight out in the middle with a whistle in his hand since the 1940s.
That is a fair effort from one clan.
Terry was the first to send the pea rattling about inside its metal casing.
He was an active referee for the Maniototo sub-union at both club and country level from the 1940s until 1960.
He then moved into selecting and coaching roles until his health deteriorated in the late 1970s.
Neil took up the whistle in 1963 after sustaining a rugby injury. He refereed in Central Otago at club and country level until 1979.
And, like Terry, he moved into mentoring, coaching and administration roles once his health prevented him being an active referee. He clocked 50 years of service.
Peter picked up the whistle in 1991. He made his way through the grades and refereed USA Schools against New Zealand Area Schools in 1994, which was a highlight.
He moved to the Mid-Canterbury association in the early 2000s and refereed premier rugby there before also moving into coaching and administration.
Sam is following the same path.
He controlled his first game as a 13-year-old in Ashburton.
"It was Allentown v Tinwald at the Allentown grounds and I remember I probably called everything that I shouldn’t have," Sam said.
"But it was still a good experience."
Sam refereed in Canterbury while he was at university and made his premier debut aged 19.
He has also had refereeing stints in Northland, Whanganui and the United Kingdom.
Sam moved to Dunedin in 2021 and started refereeing under the Otago umbrella.
"I made my debut in Otago last year, keeping on that tradition of refereeing premier rugby."
Growing up, Sam was aware of the family tradition.
"I remember touch-judging for Dad back in my younger years and have vivid memories of dad refereeing in Queenstown.
"And rugby has been a big part of our family since the 1940s and even before that as well, so that is pretty exciting that we can keep that going throughout the generations.
"For me, I really enjoy getting out and talking to people in the clubrooms, and having a moment with the players where you can produce a really good game of footy.
"That is what keeps me going."
* There is no gene for refereeing.
