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As boys grow up, many go to bed at night and dream they will have a chance to play in the National Football League and eventually its top game, the Super Bowl.

Well, Tom Stephan has reached the NFL and hes on the field every week. Stephan, however, isnt a player. Hes one of 116 men in the black and white pinstriped shirts that take to the gridiron each week as a NFL official.

Stephan, a 1976 graduate of Bonner Springs High School, is in his second year as a NFL line judge, and his ascent to the top of the profession has been a whirlwind.

Tom Stephan, a 1976 graduate of Bonner Springs High School, is one of a select group of individuals as an official in the NFL. Stephan, who started as an official in youth league games, has his sights set on working a Super Bowl.

It all began when I was in high school, Stephan said.

From CYO to the NFL

In 1975, Stephan started the first of what has turned into his 26th year of officiating football, working Catholic Youth Organization games. He started working high school ball in 1977, then got into college football in 1985, working MIAA games. A few years later, another opportunity arose.

I was working small college and Im thinking this is great, Stephan said. I had no aspirations of working Big 8, Big 12 or the NFL. Hadnt even thought about it.

A friend of mine, another official, said he had applied to the Big 8 and I remember my reaction as being, Wow, there must be a thousand people trying to get into the Big 8. Youve got to be really good to get there and chances are slim youd ever make it.

That night I felt, well shoot, if he can apply, I can apply. Im just as good as he is, so why not. I sent in my application and my letter and never heard a word.

But a mutual friend knew a Big 8 official, Phil Laurie, and introduced him to Stephan who then asked Laurie to help him get into the Big 8.

He didnt know me from Adam, but he said, We (Big 8 officials) meet in Emporia once a month, come to our meetings. I started going to the meetings, working some scrimmages for KU and K-State in 1990 and through my abilities and being able to follow their instruction and learning they hired me in 1992.

Stephan worked a half schedule of MIAA and Big 8 each, but after a couple of years, he worked only Big 8 games.

I remember when the Big 12 was formed in 96, I picked up the Big 12 Supervisor of Officials, Tim Millis at KCI airport and we were driving to Manhattan for a scrimmage. It was the first time I ever met him, Stephan said.

Stephan said Millis had watched film on officials in the Big 8 and Southwest Conference because he was doing the hiring for the newly formed league.

He says, Tom, youve applied to the NFL havent you? At that point I thought in the back of my mind, maybe five or six years down the road I might be able to think about that.

After asking why he hadnt applied, Stephan said he thought he had to have at least five years experience working Division I games. He told Millis he had worked 17 games over a three-year span and a week later, Millis called him and told Stephan where to send his application.

Obviously, he saw something that he liked, Stephan said. He thought I had the makeup and the ability. He pushed me a lot faster than I would have pushed myself.

Stephan sent in his application and two years later he was working games in NFL Europe. Following a two-year stint working overseas, the NFL hired him.

Ten to 12 years ago, I hadnt thought about working college ball, now here I am. I still pinch myself, Stephan said. I went to a Chiefs game on my off-week and saw the Seattle game. I thought I cant believe Im one of those guys down there. It doesnt seem real. Im still living the dream.

I was in the right place at the right time. Ive been lucky. I have a God-given talent and I count my lucky stars every day.

Getting the call

Stephan was originally hired by the NFL to be a replay official. But four days before an officials clinic, the league office called him and told Stephan to be in Dallas, that he was now hired as a line judge. Another official had torn his ACL in the last game of the 1998 season and his knee wasnt rehabbing well and couldnt work.

My feet were about two feet off the ground for a couple of days. I dont think I got anything done the rest of the week.

Dick (Hantak, referee and Stephans crew chief) called me up that night and said, Welcome, youre going to be on my crew. By the way, my crew is covering punt mechanics at the clinic so you have to give a presentation on what line judges are going to observe during a punt.

I thought, Geez, what am I going to tell these guys, guys who have worked the Super Bowl and 10-to-15-year veterans? Theyre going to listen to this rookie?

At the clinic I opened my 10-minute presentation by saying, As a five-day veteran, I will cover this so well and give such a thorough analysis that there will be no questions. Everybody laughed. It was my ice-breaker.

Last season, Stephan worked the Detroit Lions training camp, and five preseason and 16 regular season games.

I figured I was gone 23 out of 25 weekends from July to New Years Day. It was a whirlwind, Stephan said. I was mentally fried by Thanksgiving. From the outside looking in, everyone thinks its glamorous, but when you do it every week it becomes a drain. The challenge is maintaining your concentration for three hours every Sunday. The best officials can do that.

Typical week

Stephan said he usually leaves for his weekend assignment on Saturday mornings with a flight between 7-8 a.m., as he has to be in the game-site city before 1 p.m.

At the hotel, Stephans crew holds a 3-4 hour meeting, starting around 2 p.m. They go over a training tape the league sends out, look at the grading of last weeks game film, a coaches tape (sideline view and end zone wide angle view), a weekly test and other miscellaneous items such as travel arrangements for the following week. The day ends with dinner and an early bedtime.

On game day, the crew has to be at the game site 2 1/2 hours prior to kickoff to go through pre-game preparations, which include meeting with the coaches and captains. After the game, Stephan will fly home.

The NFL provides each official with a satellite dish with Direct TV and NFL Ticket.

We are required to tape our games, so if I had a call I really wanted to look at, one where I had a question in my mind about something that happened, I may look at my tape when I get home or Monday morning, Stephan said.

Stephan said he always watches the Monday night game and then spends two nights reviewing his game tape, looking at all the different angles on the play. He will also meet with George Hayward (a crewmate) and Mark Hittner, fellow NFL officials who live in the Kansas City area, to go over a three-page test. On Thursdays, Stephan said he might read the rule book, study some case plays and watch training tapes.

But Fridays are reserved for Stephans wife, Gayle. I usually take Friday off. Well go out and eat dinner. Thats about all we can do during the season, Stephan said. Then it starts all over again.

That doesnt leave a lot of free time. During the season, Stephan may only be at his job as a business broker at American Business Masters and Investments, Inc., in Mission for 35 hours a week, while trying to spend another 3-5 hours a night getting ready for his next game. Along with that, Tom and Gayle are expecting their first child in January.

That doesnt count time trying to squeeze in workouts to keep halfway in shape, Stephan said. The time goes by pretty quickly.

Whats a line judge?

The line judge is one of two officials on the line of scrimmage, but is always opposite the chains.

Foul-wise, I watch for false starts, offsides (encroachment), holding, some pass interference, but not much, face-mask penalties on runners and personal fouls, Stephan said. Me and the head linesman have forward progress on about 95 percent of the plays because we are stationed across from each other on the line of scrimmage.

On pass plays, according to Stephan, the line judge goes into the backfield two yards, while the head linesman moves up field five yards.

Anytime a pass goes downfield, he (the head linesman) gets the forward progress all the way across the field. If its on my side, I just mirror his spot, Stephan said. Vice-versa, if there is a quarterback sack, since Im already in the backfield, Ive got the spot for the forward progress and the head linesman will come back and mirror off of me.

We work in tandem. It takes a lot of teamwork to do that. You have to have a lot of confidence in your head linesman to be there.

Unlike high school and college officiating crews that may change from week to week, Stephan works with the same group of seven officials each week.

You get to know what someone is going to do or not do. When a situation arises, you have that working bond with your crewmates as you know how they are going to cover a play. It helps me out because I know what I need to do, said Stephan.

You spend a lot of time with them, not only on the field, but off the field. There is some common ground.

Stephan said that his crew chief, Dick Hantak has been a great teacher for him.

Ive been fortunate enough the last two years to work with him. He takes the time to explain things.

We get graded on every play, even if we are not a part of the play, Stephan said. Dick will step in and explain why they see it this way, what the philosophy is.

Hes pretty laid back. Everybody has a job to do and he expects you to know what it is and to step up and do your job when the time is called for. On the field, all seven of us are equal. Dick has the final say, but he cant make me pick up my flag or make me throw a flag. He cant overrule me as such, but you are expected to know what to do. You have to perform on the field and so far Ive been able to.

So, you want to be a NFL official?

Youve seen a thousand high school, college and NFL games from the stands and from your couch at home, and at one point or another you say to no one in particular, How can those zebras miss those calls? I can do better than that. You think so?

Though many people think that just because theyve been watching football all their lives qualifies them as an expert official, they arent even close.

After toiling through some years in the high school ranks, youll need at need at least five years of college officiating experience, though not necessarily at the Division I level, according to Stephan.

If they think you are NFL material, theyll send retired NFL officials out to scout you, Stephan said.

If you have what it takes, you are sent to work NFL Europe games. Thats where the scrutiny really begins, said Stephan, who worked three years doing NFL Europe games.

On a NFL Europe officiating crew of seven, two are NFL officials, one is an international official and the four others are current collegiate officials.

You go there for 10 days, working two games, Stephan said. You spend the week with the crew, learning from the NFL officials. If they like what they see, you may get the call, but only when someone gets fired or retires.

And for a part-time job, the pay isnt too bad. Stephan said a rookie NFL official makes about $1,450 per game, or just over $23,000 per year. That doesnt include preseason games where officials are paid half their normal per game salary. And for each year of NFL experience, the rate goes up $50-60 per game.

The officials are also given a per diem on their trips of about $240 for the first night and $185 for the second night.

But that pays for the hotel room, car rental, airport parking, meals and tips to the locker room attendant. It goes pretty quick, Stephan said. You make money on one trip, you lose it on the next.

Do you have what it takes?

NFL officials also need to be level-headed, thick-skinned and be able to make decisions in the blink of an eye.

The officials are graded by the NFL on each and every play, regardless if they made a call or not.

They have the ability to look at seven to 13 cameras, depending on how big the game is and the network covering it, Stephan said.

And that doesnt include the cameras from NFL Films, team cameras and tape from the local TV stations covering the game.

Ive heard they could have up to 30 different angles on any given play. Its unbelievable the resources they have to pull it off, Stephan said.

The grading scrutiny drives people crazy. Literally, there are guys on Saturdays ripping open the envelope because they want to see the grades. Im relaxed about it. I put my best foot forward and if its good enough, fine. If not, theyll let me know and I wont be there very long. But so far, my grades have been good.

Last season, Stephan thought he missed seven or eight calls. One of my goals was to get the judgement calls right. Its concrete. Theres no black or white. It was one of my goals to get every one of the judgement calls right. Last year, if Im not mistaken, I got all of them right. Im pretty proud of that.

Stephan said the ones he missed were mostly either holding calls he made or didnt make, or calls on pass interference.

Holding is so tough to call in the NFL. The question is, did it impact the defender from making the call, or have any affect on the play.

Stephan said the NFL has a success rate of nearly 99% on officials calls. If I remember right, on replays there were 58 overturned calls last year out of 38,500 plays. Its proven were right most of the time.

He added that he has only had two calls that were challenged. However, both were not overturned.

Im really fortunate, but I know its going to happen someday because things happen so quick and they happen in a middle of a pile that a set of eyes in one spot cant always see what happens that 10-12 cameras from different angles can. One of those is going to see what happened.

There is a great sense of pride that knowing so far Ive been able to make the correct call, Stephan said. The pro game is about 30 percent faster than the college game. Youve got the top-notch athletes and the top-notch coaches. They know how to design plays to be successful even though youve got the top defensive players in the world. It all happens in a blink of an eye. You have to be able to see that and recognize that and be able to rule on it.

And Stephan does it with up to 80,000 football fans in the stadium.

When 80,000 people are screaming, its background noise. And personally, I think I perform better. I can get into a zone and I can concentrate when there are 80,000 people screaming and the loudspeakers are blaring.

There is excitement in the air and you can feel the excitement. I love it. Bring it on. I have confidence in my ability. I know Ive proven to myself over the years that Im going to make the right call. And if I dont, Im not going to be there very long.

Super Bowl dreams

As a rookie NFL official last year, Stephan wasnt eligible for the playoffs. But this year, he is eligible and one of his goals is to get a playoff game.

Im trying to work all of that around having a baby due in January, so I might be wearing a beeper on the sidelines, Stephan said. But if I can get the Pro Bowl, or a first-round wildcard playoff game, that would be fantastic. It would be awesome.

Stephan said one of his goals is to eventually work a Super Bowl, but hell have to wait a few more years as officials have to be in the league five years.

But theres no guarantee Ill get a playoff game every year. Its performance-based, said Stephan. They take the top-rated guys to work the Super Bowl and work down from there to the league championships, divisional games and wildcards. Nothing is a given. There are guys whove gone three to four years without working a playoff game. You go too many years without a playoff game you get fired

My goals are to hopefully get a playoff game this year, advance further in the playoffs in the coming years and then the Super Bowl. Will I work it in my fifth year? That would be fantastic. Will I? Id say the odds are against me, but its not unheard of. Its one of my goals to make it in my fifth year, but I certainly wont be disappointed if I dont make it until my seventh or eighth year.

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