Father & daughter bond over passion for officiating WPIAL high school football games

Plenty of fathers and daughters find common ground in football, but one local duo shares that bond in the middle of all the action.

Mike and Amanda Conlon spend their fall Friday nights officiating WPIAL football. They’re believed to be the first father and daughter to do so in Western Pennsylvania.

However, Amanda wasn’t always passionate about football.

“I went to Ohio State, and that’s where I fell in love with it,” she told Channel 11.

Saturdays in the student section sparked a passion for not just the game, but the rulebook. Her newfound interest in football was much to Mike’s delight.

“If it wasn’t for us watching college football together and talking about games and talking about what’s happening on the field and her learning, it was purely by accident,” Mike said. “She’s like, ‘Hey, I’m going to try.’”

Instead of telling Mike directly that she was going to take the test to become an official, Amanda passed the message through her mother.

Amanda, who is an engineer by day, has been an official for three years and recently joined her dad’s crew.

For Amanda, it’s been a crash course in the game, building confidence and, as Mike puts it, using her “big voice” on the field.

“Every year she (grows) leaps and bounds, and that’s all we want,” Mike said. “Remember, if we call a perfect game, it’ll be our first game ever to be a perfect game.”

Lessons learned that are bringing Mike and Amanda closer together.

“I didn’t play football growing up, and it’s just been really cool to be able to step in his world,” Amanda said. “Understand where he’s coming from, and then the bonding experience, too.”

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