I'll try to give a serious answer... Power - Very little. In terms of game administration the big decisions are made by the leagues, conferences, athletic directors and such. Umpires execute their decisions as they relate to administering the rules of the game. While the entire profession of umpiring is based on making decisions and applying them to a given situation; we are not doing it as a matter of power or control, we are doing it in accordance with the prescribed rules and interpretations and actually have very limited scope of what we can do in any given situation. Responsibility - Tremendous. Every time we make (or don't make) a call it has an effect on the game. It is our duty to administer the game to the absolute best of our ability. To do this we must train, practice, prepare and improve at any opportunity we get. Remember the standard we are measured against is perfection. A player makes a throwing or fielding error. No real big deal, it's just another mark on the scoresheet. An umpire makes an error (or even is perceived to have made an error all hell breaks loose). There are hundreds of reasons people get into umpiring; stay involved with the game, pursue a profession, money, and the list goes on and on. And all of those reasons are generally good ones. However, the only truly bad answer is because they want some sort of power. Over the years I have seen new umpires come and go who get into it for power & control and I have not seen one who continues with it too far because it is just not there and to be a successful umpire you need some level of passion for umpiring itself. Umpiring is the most thankless job you could ever imagine. So @Umpre4Future if you are looking to umpire so you can have power and authority. Umpiring will not be for you. If you are looking to umpire to be an integral and tremendously responsible manner within the parameters we are given, then you may want to give it a try.
