The Montana Experience

I am in the midst of soccer season, devoting this fall season to officiating instead of juggling reffing along with coaching.  It has been a nice break so far, and I have gotten more out-of-state assignments than I have in the past.  I have already had the pleasure of going up to ref the University of Montana vs. the University of Minnesota one Sunday afternoon.  The game itself was mediocre and disappointing, but what made the trip one to remember was the travel to & from.  Instead of flying like I normally do, I was given the go ahead to drive instead, as flights to Missoula were $1300, and mileage ended up being cheaper for NISOA.  I called for reinforcements and brought Tony and Kimmie along for the trip.  We each took a 2-3 hour shift driving, which made the ride almost bearable.  Not only did I get to share my ref experience with my brother and sister, but we were all able to come away from the trip with some great memories, such as the "bathroom incident" at a truck stop in Dillon, Montana, which was actually more violating mentally than anything, and should probably not be repeated (not to worry, none of us were involved directly).  Tony managed to spill his drink all over himself, which resulted in a trip to Old Navy.  We were lucky to avoid overtime, eat a quick dinner, and get back on the road.  On the way back home, we came extremely close to running out of gas in the middle of nowhere, but were fortunate to come across some backwoods "The Hills Have Eyes" town, that sold gas from a bar using a pump that dates back to 1940.  If you have seen that movie, you can imagine my fear.  Luckily we all made it out alive and home safely, just to get a few hours of sleep and go to work by 6:30 the next morning.  It was all worth it!!!  Next up...St. Mary's College.