To many, they will be remembered as impostors, a band of striped, whistle-blowing charlatans who crept onto the biggest stage in sports for a few weeks of singular and unabated outrage.

For the replacement officials themselves, though, the experience of working at the heart of the N.F.L.’s most recent controversy was more nuanced: refereeing football’s highest level of games will never be forgotten, of course, but neither will the frustration that came with becoming a punching bag for bloggers and broadcasters, players and coaches, television animators and late-night talk show hosts.

“My daughter found the ‘Call Me Maybe’ video they did of us and showed it to me, and I had to laugh,” said Jeff Sadorus, a former college official who worked as a field judge during the recent lockout of the N.F.L.’s regular officials. “Honestly, sometimes during this whole thing it felt like the national pastime in this country had changed from football to bashing replacement officials.”

He added: “Everyone wanted perfection, but come on: the last guy who was perfect they nailed to a cross. And he wasn’t even an official.”