Not So Super
If the officiating crew of Super Bowl 40 had been given $10 million each to throw the game for Pittburgh, the game would have gone exactly as it did last night.
To be sure, Pittsburgh played well enough to win the game. Parker's 75-yard TD was a lovely combination of blocking, running, and catching the Seahawks in the wrong defense. Or, more appropriately, beating them even though they were in the right (run) defense, with nobody playing deep to catch the breakaway. Nice. The Randle El pass to Ward - great play. It was set up by misdirection and had Seattle fooled. The Pittsburgh defense was stout and put shackles on league MVP Shaun Alexander. But.
But the referees made sure that no matter how well to poorly the Steelers played, they would be the new champs. It's hard to see it any other way.
First, they took away a Seattle TD pass on an offense interference call that was, to put it the nicest possible way, garbage. The WR and the DB both had their hands on each other - the very definition of 'incidental contact.' Neither pushed hard enough to change the other's direction. The WR broke away and caught the DB flat-footed for the TD. The blown call resulted in not just the TD coming of the board, but a make-able 44 yard figgie turned into a missed 54-yarder.
Two other referee calls at key moments decided the game. One, of course, was the Roethlisberger TD run. Clearly, he did not get the ball into the end zone. Replay shows the ball under his body short of the goal line. The referee who made the TD call hesitated before deciding (perhaps thinking of his bank account?) that it was a TD. The call was not overturned.
Look: the Steelers probably would have gone for it on 4th and goal. And probably would have gotten it. Or they might have taken the figgie. Either way, we were cheated - we didn't get the drama of a goal line stand. We didn't get the closer score that was deserved. It was a 0, 3, or 7 point swing - we'll never know because the referees botched the call.
And most unforgivable was the holding call that negated Stevens catch to the 1 yard line. That call was the game. The score was 14-10 Pittsburgh at the time. Seattle would have gone ahead on the score and had all the momentum. The bogus hold once again not only took away the score, but pushed the team back out of field goal range, which contributed to the Int that turned in to a lovely Pitt trick play TD. As John Madden (not enemy of the refs) said on the broadcast after looking at the replay: "if there was holding on that play, I didn't see it."
Seven penalties on Seattle to three against Pitt. And the worst calls saved for the worst moments of the game. And, of course, a slew of huge non-calls, like the Pitt OL holding on Ward's catch at the 5 on 3rd and long. Back that one up, and we'll see what the final score is.
This is not 1968 anymore. Fans have a better view and a better knowledge of the game than ever. That means that it's not just an indecipherable jumble for the viewer anymore. Years ago, penalties happened and that was the end of it. There was no five-angle replay and no legions of fans at home with TiVo to go over all the calls. If a call was bad, who knew? Only the players and coaches, and they'd be fined for complaining in the press.
Now, more people know what holding is and is not. They know what a push-off is and is not. They can catch the replay on TV or run the TiVo back.
If the league allows their officiating to be as bad and biased as this, then we've seen the high-water mark of the NFL. They cannot expect to engage millions around the globe and then screw up the product this badly. Part of what engages a modern technical audience is the complexity of the game and the many rules. But if the NFL can't apply its own rules and handle it's own complexity, they end up frustrating more than entertaining.
I didn't have a dog in this race. I predicted Seattle, but had no money on the outcome of the game. But to watch one team get ripped off repeatedly and the other get unfair advantages while never suffering a setback is just appalling. The sportsman in me - that part that the game is supposed to appeal to - is disgusted.
And is that how you're supposed to feel about the Super Bowl?
To be sure, Pittsburgh played well enough to win the game. Parker's 75-yard TD was a lovely combination of blocking, running, and catching the Seahawks in the wrong defense. Or, more appropriately, beating them even though they were in the right (run) defense, with nobody playing deep to catch the breakaway. Nice. The Randle El pass to Ward - great play. It was set up by misdirection and had Seattle fooled. The Pittsburgh defense was stout and put shackles on league MVP Shaun Alexander. But.
But the referees made sure that no matter how well to poorly the Steelers played, they would be the new champs. It's hard to see it any other way.
First, they took away a Seattle TD pass on an offense interference call that was, to put it the nicest possible way, garbage. The WR and the DB both had their hands on each other - the very definition of 'incidental contact.' Neither pushed hard enough to change the other's direction. The WR broke away and caught the DB flat-footed for the TD. The blown call resulted in not just the TD coming of the board, but a make-able 44 yard figgie turned into a missed 54-yarder.
Two other referee calls at key moments decided the game. One, of course, was the Roethlisberger TD run. Clearly, he did not get the ball into the end zone. Replay shows the ball under his body short of the goal line. The referee who made the TD call hesitated before deciding (perhaps thinking of his bank account?) that it was a TD. The call was not overturned.
Look: the Steelers probably would have gone for it on 4th and goal. And probably would have gotten it. Or they might have taken the figgie. Either way, we were cheated - we didn't get the drama of a goal line stand. We didn't get the closer score that was deserved. It was a 0, 3, or 7 point swing - we'll never know because the referees botched the call.
And most unforgivable was the holding call that negated Stevens catch to the 1 yard line. That call was the game. The score was 14-10 Pittsburgh at the time. Seattle would have gone ahead on the score and had all the momentum. The bogus hold once again not only took away the score, but pushed the team back out of field goal range, which contributed to the Int that turned in to a lovely Pitt trick play TD. As John Madden (not enemy of the refs) said on the broadcast after looking at the replay: "if there was holding on that play, I didn't see it."
Seven penalties on Seattle to three against Pitt. And the worst calls saved for the worst moments of the game. And, of course, a slew of huge non-calls, like the Pitt OL holding on Ward's catch at the 5 on 3rd and long. Back that one up, and we'll see what the final score is.
This is not 1968 anymore. Fans have a better view and a better knowledge of the game than ever. That means that it's not just an indecipherable jumble for the viewer anymore. Years ago, penalties happened and that was the end of it. There was no five-angle replay and no legions of fans at home with TiVo to go over all the calls. If a call was bad, who knew? Only the players and coaches, and they'd be fined for complaining in the press.
Now, more people know what holding is and is not. They know what a push-off is and is not. They can catch the replay on TV or run the TiVo back.
If the league allows their officiating to be as bad and biased as this, then we've seen the high-water mark of the NFL. They cannot expect to engage millions around the globe and then screw up the product this badly. Part of what engages a modern technical audience is the complexity of the game and the many rules. But if the NFL can't apply its own rules and handle it's own complexity, they end up frustrating more than entertaining.
I didn't have a dog in this race. I predicted Seattle, but had no money on the outcome of the game. But to watch one team get ripped off repeatedly and the other get unfair advantages while never suffering a setback is just appalling. The sportsman in me - that part that the game is supposed to appeal to - is disgusted.
And is that how you're supposed to feel about the Super Bowl?
posted by fiduciary at 10:12 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home