Football Zebras

Super Bowl LVI umpire Bryan Neale was on ‘The Price Is Right’ in 1993

by Ben Austro - February 14, 2022February 14, 2022 01667

NFL umpire Bryan Neale got the experience of a lifetime when he was assigned to Super Bowl LVI. It was likely enough to push another thrilling moment to at least second place. Neale, who was 24 years old at the time, was visiting Los Angeles in 1993 and attended a taping

Happy 70th birthday to former NFL referee Pete Morelli

by Cameron Filipe - November 18, 2021November 18, 2021 01777

Embed from Getty Images Happy 70th birthday to retired NFL field judge and referee Pete Morelli. The 22-year official was born November 18, 1951. Morelli worked 16 postseason games, which included 7 Wild Card Playoffs, 6 Divisional Playoffs, 2 Conference Championships, and Super Bowl XXXVI, as the field judge on referee Bernie Kukarâ€™s crew. In

Happy 50th birthday to Football Zebras founder Ben Austro

by Football Zebras staff - October 29, 2021 01067

Happy birthday to our own Ben Austro, who turns 50 today. "I know we feature milestone birthdays on the website," said Austro. "But if you write a post for my 50th birthday, someone's going to be fired." Ben started the site in 2009 when he wrote a post summarizing a press conference

Happy birthday to Football Zebras editor Mark Schultz

by Ben Austro - October 22, 2021October 22, 2021 11048

Happy birthday to Football Zebras senior editor Mark Schultz who turns 50 today! Mark is in his 10th season writing for the site. He is a high school official and spotter for University of Illinois radio broadcasts. Between all of the football in his life, Mark works in public relations for

New book shows officiating is ‘A Tough Job Made Harder’

Outside the Stripes

by Mark Schultz - September 6, 2021September 6, 2021 01971

Review by Mark Schultz If you've followed Football Zebras for any length of time, you know that we break down football officiating and (hopefully) show you how difficult calling a football game is. Between interpreting complicated rules, avoiding getting run over by people twice their size, tuning out 50,000 people chanting

Happy birthday, Ed Hochuli!

by Mark Schultz - December 25, 2020December 25, 2020 04558

On this Christmas Day, 2020, we wish former NFL referee Ed Hochuli a happy 70th birthday. Hochuli was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Christmas Day, 1950. His family moved to Arizona when he was eight, and he has called Arizona home ever since. In high school, Hochuli played football, basketball, wrestling and

70 years ago, the NFL opened the season with a prayer for peace

Outside the Stripes

by Ben Austro - September 13, 2020September 13, 2020 02282

Sometimes to know where you are, you have to know how you got there. In a tumultuous year, it was a request for a moment of reflection and a simple gesture of peace before the kickoff of the NFL games. The commissioner obliged, and never a thought was made about political

Washington retires team name that was once a factor in officiating assignments

Outside the Stripes

by Ben Austro - July 13, 2020July 13, 2020 02724

http://gty.im/843486860 The NFL's Washington franchise has officially retired their team name, which will take effect when a new team name is decided. In use for 87 seasons, the name controversy also had a small effect on which officials worked which games. https://twitter.com/Redskins/status/1282661063943651328 Referee Mike Carey took issue with the team and requested to

Football Zebras celebrates 10 years

by Ben Austro - January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 12862

Somewhere in the middle of the 2008 season there was a call that challenged the interpretation of the rules. I was looking to verify my understanding, but everywhere I turned the play was through the lens of the team. It was the right call, even though it was controversial. It

Father’s Day crews

by Mark Schultz - June 17, 2018June 18, 2018 17859

One of the fun parts of being a dad is when a child wants to join the dad in an activity or hobby, or just wants to spend time together. I'm sure NFL officials are happy when their kids want to take up officiating. That happiness and pride, I'm sure,