#HotRef revealed: Super Bowl official who stole the show with his jacked arms is personal injury lawyer (and sorry, ladies, he's married)

Home Top

The white face(s) of Hollywood: Oscars class of 2016 including Jennifer Lawrence, DiCaprio and Stallone meet for nominees lunch ahead of Awards - but there's barely a black face in sight
'I've forgiven myself': Rielle Hunter says she broke with the disgraced John Edwards only last year and still 'loves him' - but regrets hurting his terminally ill wife
Bernie wins a landslide 4-0 against Hillary (and Kasich beats Trump) in tiny New Hampshire town of NINE people that opened polling at midnight
Chipotle offers customers free burritos to win back business - and all you have to do is text them for a voucher
Horrific details emerge from the night Johnny Manziel 'kidnapped his girlfriend, threw her on the bed and hit her so hard it ruptured her eardrum'
Super Bowl MVP Von Miller urges football fans to support disgraced QB Johnny Manziel just hours after Denver Broncos victory on Sunday
Liam Neeson reveals he's romantically involved with an 'incredibly famous' woman seven years after the death of his wife Natasha Richardson
New York Knicks sack head coach Derek Fisher in bid to reverse their sagging NBA fortunes
Award-winning literature professor is jailed for possessing massive child porn collection with more than 500,000 movies and images
Pittsburgh woman buys tiny 320-square-foot home on wheels for $25,000 - but is told by local government it's too small to be legal
FBI arrests US army deserter who said he was an ISIS soldier and called Osama bin Laden 'a diamond' and a 'beautiful man'?
Up to 60 ISIS jihadis were deployed in Europe ahead of the Paris attacks and had plans to carry out atrocities in five cities including London and Berlin
Terminally ill mom who fought for a right-to-die law in California dies from cancer aged 47 at home with her daughter
Murderer mistakenly freed because of clerical error in Los Angeles recaptured after spending NINE days on the run
What has Kate done to her eyebrows? She can't leave them alone! But critics say the results are unflattering - and ageing
Gwyneth Paltrow sobs on the stand as she testifies her 'stalker' wrote letters about ridding her of sin with a SCALPEL, made a marriage proposal and sent her sex toys and porn
Rosie O'Donnell jokes she would trade her teenagers for 'autistic triplets' just months after allegedly threatening to cut all ties with her daughter, 18, if she doesn't go to rehab thousands of miles from home
Police chief's daughter weeps in court and apologizes to her victims as she is sentenced to jail for brutal attack on Philadelphia gay couple
REVEALED: Hacker released details of 9,000 DHS employees followed by data from 22,000 FBI workers during Super Bowl
US tourist flies stray dog Charlie home to LA after meeting him on Peru holiday just minutes before she was due to go home and pays to treat his 'raw paws, broken skin and malnutrition'
Terror at sea: Passengers aboard Royal Caribbean cruise told to stay in their rooms as ship gets caught in 150mph hurricane-force winds, forcing it to turn around
Watch the disgusting moment Dr Pimple Popper cuts open a giant blackhead on a man's back and pulls out an ingrown hair
Winter storm Mars hits New England with howling 65 mph winds, coastal flooding and heavy snow as 18 inches expected to be dumped in Cape Cod
At least 30 people injured - six in critical condition - after bus heading to casino rolls onto its side on snow-covered Connecticut interstate

Cletus W Blakeman, 51, is a personal injury lawyer in Omaha, Nebraska
The married father-of-two played college ball, now referees part time
He was alternate ref in 2014, graduated to lead official for Super Bowl 50
Twitter was awash with excitement at his dimples and arms on Sunday
For full coverage of the Super Bowl 50 visit www.dailymail.co.uk/superbowl

Published: 17:25 EST, 8 February 2016 | Updated: 19:50 EST, 8 February 2016

View
comments

Meet Clete Blakeman, the happily married 51-year-old attorney from Omaha, who became the nation's unlikeliest heart-throb overnight after he officiated Super Bowl 50.

Dubbed #HotRef during the NFL's annual showpiece, the father-of-two won a legion of fans with his bulging biceps and cute dimples, but left them all disappointed when they discovered he was taken.

Some even called him the game's real MVP and as his fame spread across social media it was revealed the handsome ref is as successful as a personal injury lawyer as he is at setting Twitter alight.

Blakeman, 51, is an award-winning personal injury lawyer with a firm in Omaha, Nebraska, where he lives with his wife Katie, young daughter Maeve and baby son (pictured together)

Minutes into Sunday night's game, Twitter was awash with excited reactions to #HotRef Clete Blakeman (pictured), whose muscular arms and dimples apparently dazzled the nation

According to Blakeman's biography on the website for his firm Carlson Burnett, he 'has gained membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates for his commitment to integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal field.'

He is also 'a standing member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum as a result of achieving verdicts, awards or settlements exceeding one million dollars ($1M) for his clients,' the site adds.

And making reference to his sporting career as a QB while studying at the University of Nebraska, it says: 'His background as a Cornhusker quarterback is representative of his competitive nature and leadership.'

Indeed, according to Huskers.co, which is the official site of the University of Nebraska, Blakeman began as a backup quarterback at Nebraska from 1984 to 1987.

Blakeman (pictured with his wife and daughter) joined the league as a referee in 2008, graduating to crew chief in 2011

His involvement in football stretches back to his college days in the 1980s, when he was a backup quarterback at the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Pictured, left, at a game in November and, right, in a Facebook photo

Twitter users couldn't have cared less about the game once Blakeman caught their eyes

He joined the league as a referee in 2008, graduating to crew chief in 2011.

His involvement in football stretches back to his college days in the 1980s, when he was a backup quarterback at the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Though he was the alternate referee for Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, this year was his first time in the limelight as he took the post of lead official, heading up a team of seven referees.

'And the real winner tonight? This guy. #HotRef #SuperBowl,' one Twitter user tweeted.

Another wrote: 'How hot is that ref?!?! #SB50 he needs more screen time #hotref'

'Okay raise your hand if you think the ref is hot,' one said.

And one said: 'Where can I order a #cleteblakeman calendar??'

Blakeman, pictured on Sunday, joined the league as a referee in 2008, graduating to crew chief in 2011

Though he was the alternate referee for Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, this year was his first time in the limelight as he took the post of lead official, heading up a team of seven referees