[Dueller]

This weekend wife and I were invited to a shrimp boil/cookout at one of her customer's house. I'd met him before and he was a nice guy...a bit quiet but very friendly. I knew he was a recently retired college sports official but didn't get into any details.

Turns out up until last years Bowl season he was an SEC football referee. His home was filled with all this great college football meorabilia from his 30 year career. Numerous game balls, pictures, watches (awarded to Bowl officials), etc, etc.

I really enjoyed talking with him. It was fascinating that the on field officials study game films each week so they know the offenses in particular...almost like a defensive player preparing as they need to know where to be to look for rules violations,etc. When asked what were some of his most memorable games there were to many great games to single any few out. And they even train preseason to get in shape so they can keep up on the field.

While I'm not a fanatic sports fan, it did sound like a great career for a guy. In the off season he was a residential contractor. Judging from his home he didn't do too shabby. That and the fact that he was married to the CEO of a major utility company didn't hurt either.