KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Chances are you've criticized a football official.

The opportunity is now here to show that you can do a better job.

The Knoxville-area is running low on officials.

"We need more guys who have the courage to wear stripes on a Friday night. And I do say courage because everybody sits up the stands and say, 'I can do it better than that.' Well, your opportunity is now," Harold Denton, TSSAA supervisor for area football, said Tuesday afternoon.

Each varsity football game uses six officials. Denton says there are enough officials to get all scheduled games staffed.

The concern is not having enough extra officials to call if someone isn't able to make his game.

"Our comfort level is not as high as we would expect it to be," Denton said.

"Have you ever had a sports injury? Sometimes the wife says you're going on vacation. Stuff happens. Just like any work schedule, you have to have a few more bodies than you need just to make it thru."

The Knoxville Football Officials Association covers over a thousand games a season. That ranges from youth football all the way up to the high school level.

Roughly 140 officials are needed to fill the schedule.

For more information on how to become a football official, click on the links provided.