Who is Shannon Eastin and WHY DO I CARE??!??

“OH NO!” – douchebags

The blog has finally been engulfed by the flood of shit, crushed under its mass and left gasping for the potential hits we’re missing out on. We’ve got no choice but to talk about this nonsense referee situation and the inevitable tainting of our brutal, archaic sport with the feminine touch of a dainty woman’s misjudgments.  If there is one true casualty resulting from the NFL referee’s labor dispute with the league, it’s the historical sexism that has relegated women to skimpy, rhinestone-adorned half-clothing and, which may be even more rare, the occasional sideline bullshit to fill dead air.

And scene. This is what you might have read in response to myriad stories about such a trivial topic. Check your local comments section.

The way I see it, this is farthest from being “another bonehead decision” chalked up to Chancellor Goodell (I think that’s what he’s going by nowadays) and closer toward “one small step for man.” Oops — WOman.

And aside from opening a door, shattering a ceiling, removing a barrier that should be shattered as quickly as possible, it’s happening organically. This isn’t the lingerie football league; they aren’t just shoving tits onto the field in hopes of increasing a boner-count. Last year, NFL Head of Officials Carl Johnson already said there were women in the pipeline for ref gigs. With the regular crews holding out, the process has only been expedited.

Enter Shannon Eastin. Now, people have been googling that name more often than the phase “olivia munn nip slip” in the last week. Every article you’ll find has the same headline and the same info: that she’s an official for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and was spotted training in Dallas. But who is Shannon Eastin?

This Thursday she will be the first woman to officiate an NFL game when the Packers play the Chargers, but made a similar entry into history books when she became the first referee to officiate Division I football games in the NCAA. Not a line judge or any of that bullshit, but an actual REFEREE. She’s been officiating sports contests for about 10 years, including 6 years spent as a referee for NCAA Division I women’s basketball.

Before this hoopla, it’s been recorded that Eastin has done a commendable job on more than one occasion, and her journey is in the process of being documented in a project called “In a Man’s World” by Media 528. She also assigns referees for the Charter Athletic Association of Arizona. So, to say the least, she takes this shit seriously.

If Sunday’s Hall of Fame game in Canton was any indication, the scabs aren’t going to be much different from the real deal. Aside from that missed holding call in the first quarter, it wasn’t either a madhouse nor was it flag-city.  This Thursday, any fears or doubts of the game’s compromised integrity will be dead. If any issue stems from Eastin’s involvement, it’ll more than likely be that there will be one less position on the field when Hochuli & Assoc. finally return. And that’s probably a good thing.

(According to Media 528, Eastin is a blackbelt in Judo. So any insults will probably be met with a swift karate chop to your sexist adams apple.)