Here’s the touching reason why NFL referees are emphatically announcing first downs

You may have noticed that NFL referee Tony Corrente made a particularly emphatic “first down!” call early in Thursday night’s Chicago Bears game against the Green Bay Packers.

Written out, it was more like “first doooooown!”

So what gives? Is Corrente trying out something new here?

No. It turns out there’s a much better reason for it. Longtime NFL referee Red Cashion died this past February after spending 25 years as an official in the league. This also wasn’t the first time a zebra paid tribute — it happened during a Jets-Giants preseason tilt, too (see below):

This ref has been waiting to make the first down call for months pic.twitter.com/6bzbJfSbhS

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 6, 2019

@richeisen Red Cashion attempt… Yikes! I appreciate the effort and feel like this was a daily mirror practice ritual. Doh! pic.twitter.com/G4JElShKAd

— Casey Brock (@GoldenBlab) August 8, 2019

Here’s Cashion talking about his signature call:

25 years as an @NFL official. Two @SuperBowl appearances. And one memorable "First down!" call. Today, we honor the life of longtime referee Red Cashion. pic.twitter.com/wI03DhREEX

— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) February 11, 2019