SWANVILLE, Minn. — When it comes to the marriage game, Dan and Nedda Zetah are on point.
“We just celebrated 40 years,” Nedda says.
More specifically, “Forty years in October,” Dan adds.
From newlyweds to parents to retirees, Dan and Nedda have maintained a tight bond.
“We just really enjoy being together,” Nedda says.
True as that may be, most married couples don’t define togetherness as slipping on the uniforms of high school basketball referees.
“I didn't know they were a husband-and-wife team,” Becky Galligan says as she watches the varsity game in the Swanville school gym.
Dan and Nedda run up and down the court, whistles blaring as they signal fouls, timeouts and steps out of bounds.
Dan is the more experienced member of the team.
“I was so scared,” Nedda says. “Oh, gosh, I was so scared to do that varsity level.”
Dan persisted in his belief that Nedda had the right temperament for the job. Both the Zetahs are retired teachers.
“I said, ‘You'd be really good, I'll teach you,’” Dan says, turning to Nedda. “I knew you could do it.”
After all, Dan and Nedda had both played varsity basketball.
But mostly, Dan didn't like being on the road refereeing without his best gal.
“She knew that it was like, ‘I either gotta go do this and join in or I'm going to be home a lot alone,’” Dan says.
But Dan wasn’t done pushing his wife to take on new challenges.
After Nedda mastered basketball, Dan persuaded his wife to learn baseball and softball officiating, too.
Then, the couple added football and volleyball referring to their mix.
Combined, the Zetahs now ref together roughly 300 games a year.
The couple can often be heard during games offering each other encouragement.
“You're focusing, it's going good,” Nedda tells her husband during a break in the action.
But that doesn’t mean they always see eye to eye.
“There was an out of bounds play and I blew my whistle and went one way,” Nedda says. “He went the other way, and I just stopped, and the gym got super quiet.”
Neda took quick stock of the situation.
“And I said, ‘We're married, I'm right.’”
Dan’s response also came swiftly.
“’We’re going that way,’” he laughingly recalls, extending a hand to point in Nedda’s direction.
As much as the couple loves sharing that story, Nedda thinks there’s something to their refereeing relationship.
“I think being married makes us better refs because we trust each other,” she says.
Maybe others in the stands should give it a try.
“God, no,” Kris Bellefeuille says at the very suggestion. “That’s not happening.”
Sitting across the court at the scorer's table, Bonnie Fruechte also briefly ponders refereeing with her spouse.
“I don't sit next to him at ballgames,” she laughs.
At game’s end, Dan and Needa shake hands with players, offering encouragement and good wishes.
Needa says it’s been a good night.
“It doesn't count as a date though,” she points out with a smile.
Dan smiles back.
“I can't buy anything at the concession stand and count it as a date,” he affirms.
Give credit to a couple married 40 years.
And still scoring.
“Maybe that’s part of the excitement,” Nedda says. “Just doing things you never thought you would do and all of a sudden you’re doing them.”
Boyd Huppert is always looking for great stories to share in the Land of 10,000 Stories! Send us your suggestions by filling out this form.
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