The Next Ed Hochuli
 

The next Ed Hochuli is already known: and he's Gene Steratore. He's the next great NFL referee. Parry and Blakeman are up there too.

Gene does a hell'uva job on the basketball floor too!

Is there really any such thing as a great referee? AFAICT it's not like, say, a great player. The NFL's top official is probably just someone who consistently, over a long period, has shown a teeny, tiny edge over the next best, and the top 10 of them have probably only a slight edge over the next 10, and so on. Am I right about this, or is there actually something that makes a star official?

If you are far and away better than your peers or in a league you work. That classification is purely subjective like who is a better player is and why they are better. But of course there can and are great officials out there. That does not mean they are perfect or never make mistakes.

Peace

Absolutely there is a such thing as a great referee. Throughout the years, and I mean, yeeaars, there's usually an official or two, sometimes at each position that rises to the top.

You are right in your thinking though: the difference between 1 and 17 in the NFL is a very slim margin, but still, some people always hang out near the top among their peers.

Example: Look at Boger's mic work, compared to Hochuli. Sure Boger (Alt R on SB45) has improved, but he still has improvements to make. I'm not quite sure how Hochuli could improve. Will Boger rise to the top? He might, but with guys like the aforementioned, he'll need some luck.

An even better examples are the umpires - the position that not everyone could do! You've got Chad Brown who has had a fabulous career, and may go out on top - since he's got the dance this year.