Ed Hochuli

Beginning last fall (2006) I joined the ranks of football officials everywhere when I was hired by the UND wellness center as a flag football official. In the beginning, I wanted only to officiate games and go home, treating my official status much like any other job. This soon became impossible to do as I am an avid fan of the NFL and observe the mechanics and speech patterns of the officials at this pinnacle position of
football referees everywhere. Before last year I paid absolutely no attention to the officials as people serving a purpose, but only as objects for scrutiny. Watching these officials caused me to analyze how I conduct myself on the field and apply their methods to my own officiating style. Through time I have a newfound confidence in my ability and have started adding some 'color' to my officiating. By this I mean that I still make the calls in accordance with the rules, but I try to spice up the emphasis in making the verbal and physical signals. One man that has jumped to the forefront in my mind is the man you see in the picture at left. His name is Ed Hochuli and for anyone that doesn't know, he is a 56 year old Wisconsin native who played college football(linebacker) at UTEP where he earned a law degree and is now a resident in Arizona, a partner in a law firm, and a father of six. Ed is definitely not the average NFL official. At first glance he has a physical presence that one would equate with a uniformed player and not a referee. He also has great verbal prowess when articulating explanations on the field. Certain traits I have noticed are that when he signals a first down, he reaches across his body, away from the first down direction which always catches me off guard and I'm like, "oh, which way are they going?" only to snap it forward to the actual direction of the first down. Also, doesn't it look like he's posing in the picture above, maybe flexing his bicep as he signals the holding? And you can't tell me he's not wearing a shirt one size too small. All of these little things are what makes him unique and an individual even though he must continue to perform his function as the protector of fairness and neutrality on the field. Basically, in my second season as a flag football official I've started going past just making the calls and having some fun with the job. Adding a few 'pieces of flair' to our run of the mill daily routines can make time pass by a little faster or at least allow us to go through the day with a smile on our faces.