Ripped referee Mike Defee surprised by social media stardom

An overnight internet sensation, Mike Defee talks Tuesday in his Nederland office about officiating the National Championship game Monday night. Defee's coworkers decorated the office with several internet memes from Monday night's game. Photo taken Tuesday, January 10, 206 Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less An overnight internet sensation, Mike Defee talks Tuesday in his Nederland office about officiating the National Championship game Monday night. Defee's coworkers decorated the office with several internet ... more Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor Image 1 of / 52 Caption Close Ripped referee Mike Defee surprised by social media stardom 1 / 52 Back to Gallery

Mike Defee laughed when he walked into his Nederland office Tuesday afternoon.

A little less than 15 hours had passed since the part-time referee became a social media star while officiating the televised college national championship game, and his co-workers had already delivered their prank.

>> See some of social media's most hilarious reactions to Mike Defee in the slideshow above.

Defee stared at a large picture of himself from the game that was hung from a hallway ceiling. There he was, with his now-famous biceps bulging from the zebra-striped sleeves, as he pointed downfield. More than a dozen copies of the same photo were tacked on the walls, arranged so they would point toward Defee's office in the back.

His co-workers at the Nederland-based industrial company howled when he reached his office, stepping out in T-shirts that read, "I work for Mike 'the Arms' Defee."

"Well, I found my office all right," said Defee, 55. "This is so crazy."

Photo: Twitter @RealCoachBell65: "Saw head ref Mike Defee. Thought I had turned...

@RealCoachBell65: 'Saw head ref Mike Defee. Thought I had turned WWE raw on.'

More than 26 million viewers watched as Defee stepped between Alabama and Clemson's team captains for the coin flip Monday night.

Before the first quarter was over, #MuscleRef was trending on Twitter.

Every time the ESPN cameras cut back to Defee, another viewer snapped a picture and created another meme: "Muscle Ref Mike Defee throws his flag into the core of the earth," one read; "Despite heightened #NationalChampionship security, this ref managed to sneak two guns in," read another.

Defee said he didn't know about his new fame until after the game, when he looked at the texts from friends and family.

"When I heard about it, I was like, 'Gosh, what is this all about,'" Defee said. "Some of it's just crazy. Look, if you're talking about a 55-year-old man's arms, it's got to be a boring world, folks."

Defee has never posted from his real Twitter account, @DefeeMike, but his parody account, @MikeDefeeArms, appeared during the game and tweeted throughout the night.

Defee, who has been a referee for the Big 12 Conference for 11 years, said he has always been in shape.

"It's just when you get on that big of stage, stuff like that happens," Defee said. "Players used to come up and say, 'How much do you bench?'"

Photo: Twitter @EFawcett7: "Dude is determined to make Clemson and Alabama regret...

@Efawcett7: 'Dude is determined to make Clemson and Alabama regret not recruiting him in the mid 70s'

Defee said he quit playing football as a sophomore at Nederland high school.

"I was actually pretty small - 155 pounds," said Defee, now 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 212 pounds. "I was a late bloomer. Didn't really start hitting the weight until I was 23 years old."

He graduated from Nederland in 1980, and didn't become an official until 1995, when then-Beaumont referee chapter president Eugene Walters recruited him.

Defee officiated high school games for 11 years, then in the Southland Conference for five. He is now in his 11th year in the Big 12 Conference and has officiated the Sugar Bowl, Big 12 championship games and the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma.

Defee's biceps started getting attention earlier this season. One of the first tweets posted about his beefy arms came during the Sept. 10 Iowa State vs. Iowa game. Twitter user @oskyhawkeye wrote: "The 'R' on Mike Defee's shirt stands for Ripped."

During the West Virginia vs. Texas Tech game on Oct. 15, Twitter users began to compare Defee to Ed Hochuli, buff NFL official. Users even joked that he must do quick workouts before football games.

"Contrary to belief, I didn't work out before the national championship game," said Defee, who works out three to four times a week and used to max out on bench at 400 pounds. Defee said he stopped lifting heavy weights once his joints started hurting.

"Now, I lift moderate weight," he said. "I'm trying to maintain what I have."

When he was told he would officiate the national championship game, Defee said becoming an internet celebrity was the last thing on his mind.

"It was just one of those things where you pinch yourself - is this really happening?" Defee said. "This is the pinnacle of our sport."

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@coreyralexander: 'This is the only dude on the field that can tackle Bo Scarborough.'

As it turned out, Clemson didn't need Defee to tackle Alabama's star running back - Scarborough broke a bone in his lower right leg late in the third quarter.

But Alabama fans needed Defee to make a call that never came. Clemson scored the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds on a controversial play in which a wide receiver sets a pick to free another. No flags were thrown, and those who favored Alabama could allow the play to cloud one of the most remarkable football games in history.

Thanks to his bulging biceps, they'll remember exactly who didn't make the call they wanted.

"It's just the world we live in today," Defee said. "At the end of the day, I don't work the game for them. I work the game because there's a greater calling. Just the love, passion and integrity of the game."

So what will happen to Muscle Ref when the next season starts?

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"Like everything else, it will die away," Defee said. "The quicker the better."

BKubena@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/BKubena