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MEET THE BUFF REF

For much of the NFL season, we here at Casa del Ensalada have been watching numerous games on the plasma officiated by a head referee who, it would appear based upon his physique, just came from wrestling in the latest WWE Smackdown.

Salad Wife affectionately and somewhat lustily calls him "The Buff Ref."

Come to find out from Rommie that his name is Ed Hochuli. I'd never really paid that much attention before, but when it looked like his pipes were growing from his shirt sleeves to such an extent each week that he might Hulk-out and burst through his uniform, you start to wonder who this guy is.

A story earlier this month in the Palm Beach Post explored the Buff Ref's appeal:

Hochuli — who is not allowed to be interviewed during the season per league rules — has said he is a little puzzled at the attention he receives.

"Sometimes I want to think that you're watching too much football if you recognize me," Hochuli told NPR last year. "All I am is the referee. I'm not the game."

The most obvious reason for Hochuli's celebrity status in his 16th year is his unusual, bodybuilder-like physique. Not bad for a 54-year-old father of six who's a grandfather five times over.

"When the locker room door opened and we walked out onto the field, I always felt like Superman coming out of the phone booth," Markbreit said. "Well, Ed not only feels like it, he looks like Superman."

And how the (middle-aged) ladies love their black-and-white Clark Kent. Hochuli, whose early morning workouts are legendary, gets as many hoots and hollers as the cheerleaders. Be warned: Don't ever mention steroids. One Web site felt his wrath in the form of three lengthy, angry e-mails for joking that he's on the juice.

On the field, Hochuli takes in stride the ribbing he gets from the players.

"Guys say stuff like, 'What's up with this old guy with those big old arms? Who's he trying to impress?' " Dolphins defensive tackle Kevin Carter said.

"That dude is jacked up," fullback Heath Evans said. "Guys always wonder, 'Does he want to ref or play?' "

Well, he used to want to play. After lettering in four sports in high school, Hochuli was a 6-foot, 210-pound linebacker at Texas-El Paso from 1969 to '72. But his football dreams took a back seat to his education, which led him to his full-time job as a trial attorney in Phoenix.

"That doesn't shock me," Carter said. "He's got a calm, cool demeanor. He's pretty much in control no matter what's going on. The players respect him."

The Law & Order secret life might explain why Hochuli once needed 91 words to explain an illegal motion infraction.

Hochuli even has inspired a line of "What Would Ed Hochuli Do?" T-shirts at Cafe Press.

He's also generated interest from TV announcers during the game. The gay sports Web site Outsports.com, noticed last year that Phil Simms made comments that they described as being homoerotic:

Simms seems to have a special thing for referee Ed Hochuli and was in top form Sunday during the Rams-Patriots game.

The cameras focused on Hochuli, who we call “Guns” because of his impressive biceps. Said Simms: “Ed is looking pumped today, isn’t he? He’s gotta be the most in-shape referee in the history of the NFL.”

After announcer Jim Nantz said they saw Hochuli the night before carbo-loading at an Italian restaurant, Simms said: “I’ll tell you what -- I promise you that before he comes out to the game each week, and I mean this as a compliment, he’s probably knocking off a couple hundred pushups in the locker room.”

Simms wasn't alone, Outsports noted:

We love watching Ed “Guns’ Hochuli, the buff, baritone-voiced referee. He calls a great game and the announcers always talk about his muscular arms. So it was a shame when Guns was stuck calling the Green Bay game (temperature in single digits) and had to wear long sleeves. It prompted this exchange between CBS announcers Dick Enberg and Dan Dierdorf:

Dierdorf: “You know it’s cold when Ed is wearing long sleeves.”
Enberg: “You can’t see those triceps. Ed Hochuli likes showing them.”

--More Ed. Thanks to our friend Brent, who caught this exchange a week ago between announcers Gus Johnson and Brent Jones:

Johnson: "We like to talk about Ed Hochuli guns"
Jones: "Look at the guns on the big official!"
Johnson: "It looks like Ed has been spending even more time in the weight room. You better be careful in criticizing the official because he'll come up and smack you down!"
Jones: "I'm scared of Big Ed! I'm getting on the plane out of here!"

Anyway, Salad Wife was all atwitter that Buff Ref was working the game Sunday while Salad Boy and I were in the stands.

And Buff Ref didn't disappoint. Although most people thought he was signaling penalties, I watched the game with the sound off and saw them instead as indicators of his workout routine.

Allow me to interpret:

"I do one set with 12 reps."

"First, I do right-side isolated lat pulldowns."

"Then I do them on the left."

"Then I turn back into an attorney."



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