One can only imagine that Ed Hochuli hit the weights extra hard Monday morning.
Arguably the NFL’s most famous referee, Hochuli’s reputation is normally as steely as the physique he’s known for under his black-and-white jersey. But after a mere vocal gaffe left him red-faced during the season-opener between the Redskins and Giants, his horrifically blown fumble call cost the San Diego Chargers a victory on the road against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Even ESPN radio hosts Scott Van Pelt and Mike Tirico had to go through a little refresher Monday afternoon, proof that Hochuli’s stature has suffered a hit metaphorically, if not physically.
Scott Van Pelt » I know him as a guy who’s in great shape and makes fun calls. Is he respected within the NFL?
Mike Tirico » Yes.
SVP » That’s what I thought, as one of the better officials.
MT » A playoff official almost every year.
SVP » That brings up a another question. How do we have a multi-billion dollar industry with part-time employees in charge of doing this?
Neither referees’ weekend-employee status nor the rule that a mistakenly blown whistle on a forward pass cannot be reviewed by instant replay are likely to change. But what happens to Hochuli?
Despite presiding over two Super Bowls, it would be hard to imagine that the 57-year-old Phoenix attorney will be called upon this February in Tampa.
“There were two fouls by the defense. Offense, eh, uh, I’m sorry. Offside, defense, that penalty is declined,” said Hochuli, smiling sheepishly after a second-quarter play during the Redskins’ Week 1 loss to the Giants.
But Chargers head coach Norv “Can’t Buy a Break, or Do Enough to Ever Win Convincingly” Turner had little to smile about Sunday.
“Ed came over to me and said he blew it,” said Turner. “And that to me is not acceptable.”
