Scott DeLuzio:    00:00:00    Thanks for tuning into the Drive On Podcast where we’re focused on giving hope and strength to the entire military community, whether you’re a veteran, active duty, guard, reserve, or family member, on this podcast we’ll share inspirational stories and resources that are useful to you. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio and now let’s get on with the show. Welcome back to the Drive On Podcast. Today my guest is Mike Pereira. Mike is the founder of the nonprofit Battlefields2Ballfields, which helps veterans integrate back into society by providing veterans with skills to officiate sporting events from anywhere from the high school all the way up through the pro levels. So welcome to the show, Mike; why don’t you go ahead and tell us a little bit about yourself and your background for those of us who maybe haven’t heard of you in the past?  

Mike Pereira:    00:00:50    Well, I’m just kind of one of those guys, that’s a referee at heart. I’ve been involved in officiating really since 1970, when I was 20 years old and I started refereeing Pop Warner football games in East Palo Alto, California. And for some absurd reason, I fell in love with it. And so it became the passion of my life. I went from Pop Warner football to high school, freshman and junior varsity football. Then varsity football, then the small college, then to the major colleges in the west and what was called the Pacific Post Athletic Comp Association, which then became the Big West. And then eventually after 26 years of officiating on the amateur level got into the NFL and so those 26 years prepared me for the shock of officiating in the NFL game, which is a totally different beast.  

Mike Pereira:    00:01:48    The speed is like nothing you’ve ever seen really at every position. You know, you think about the NFL, you’re those big lumbering, offensive linemen. Well, those big lumbering offensive linemen are fast. And so it’s a unique challenge to officiate. So I did that for two years and I was doing some officiating administrative duties for the Western athletic conference and the league expanded their officiating department and they went through this whole process of interviewing people and they chose to hire me to be a supervisor of officials. So in 98, I went to the office, I did it through the 2009 season. And then I retired from the NFL to come west, back home to California and Fox reached out to me and said, Hey we’re thinking about a new concept here, a rules analyst, somebody that can help educate the fans, they kind of thought it was going to be on the internet and not live on television  

Mike Pereira:    00:02:53    but that very first game that we had in 1998, there was a controversial call between Detroit and Chicago, Calvin Johnson in the end zone ruled an incomplete pass. If it was complete, Detroit would have won the game, but they left it as incomplete as I predicted that they would. And thus, my role was solidified that I’m more television than I am on the internet, but I’m an officiating junkie. I mean, I’ve been involved with it, like I said, since 1970; I mean, since, basically when I was 20 years old in 1970, so 51 some odd years. And maybe even before that, because my dad was an official, even before I became an official. So I went from there to where I am now, which is still doing it. I’m on Fox football coverage.  

Scott DeLuzio:    00:03:47    Yeah. And It seems like it runs in the blood line with your father doing it as well. And it is an addictive kind of thing for some people. I don’t want to say it’s addictive, but it’s something that you get passionate about. And a lot of people who are invo...