Former NJ teacher Mark Geiger gets World Cup referee assignment (Greece-Colombia)

Mark Geiger, a 39-year-old professional referee and former high school teacher from Beachwood, New Jersey, has been selected for his first World Cup duty when Colombia plays Greece on Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

When it comes to referees, the World Cup is unlike any other sporting event: You're only guaranteed one game. Do a good job and you get another assignment. Screw up and you're headed home. Only 25 referees are chosen from a pool of thousands.

And, by the end of the tournament, there's one referee left -- and roughly a billion (gulp!) television viewers watching. Who knows? Geiger could be the guy working the championship game.

"It could happen, I suppose," Geiger told the Los Angeles Times. "Coaches, players, they all dream of having the final. That's what we're working towards and we're going to work very hard in order to accomplish that.
<snip>

http://www.nj.com/soccer-news/index.ssf/2014/06/former_nj_teacher_mark_geiger_gets_world_cup_referee_assignment.html