# The Abyssmal Super Bowl Officiating **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 6, 2006, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191 "2006-02-06T05:02:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/81 "2006-02-07T03:32:52Z")
> [@JonScribe](#): > > Keep repeating that **Airman** and it will eventually sound true to you. > > But that sounds like an admission that the Steelers didn’t win it solely on their own skill. No, it’s a statement of fact. You can piss and moan all you want about the lousy calls, but the fact is that the Seahawks got beat, just like the Steelers did in Super Bowl XXX, because they screwed up at the most inopportune times and couldn’t recover. Now that the game is over you guys have to fall back on “the refs did it”. It does sound true to me, probably because it is. I didn’t see the Seahawks hoisting it at the end. Did you? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/82 "2006-02-07T03:47:48Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > On the other hand, I’m even more convinced about the interference call. ‘Swatting the defender’s arm away from him’??? Yeesh. Hand is placed on chest as the elbow is flexed; hand stays there as receiver changes direction away from the defender and towards the ball; arm extends fully (or almost fully). Push. Off. Even if that were true (but it’s not), that sort of slap and tickle is almost never called _if the defender is also touching the receiver_ (like in this case) ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/83 "2006-02-07T03:53:31Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > No, it’s a statement of fact. You can piss and moan all you want about the lousy calls, but the fact is that the Seahawks got beat, just like the Steelers did in Super Bowl XXX, because they screwed up at the most inopportune times and couldn’t recover. Now that the game is over you guys have to fall back on “the refs did it”. > > It does sound true to me, probably because it is. I didn’t see the Seahawks hoisting it at the end. Did you? Actually, _I_ didn’t have much of a problem with the officiating. And I know who won the game. But I don’t believe the best team won. The team that took the best advantage of its opportunities won. There’s a difference. Enjoy the trophy. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/84 "2006-02-07T04:15:14Z")
> [@Kiros](#): > > The winning QB had a 22.6 rating … Bet that’s ANOTHER record this game set along with the longest run and longest interception return! ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/85 "2006-02-07T04:31:46Z")
Bad calls: Pass Interference Hold on punt return Hold on pass reception Horsecollar on Alexander Matt flagged for tackling (the poster child of just bizarre calls) Timeout after play clock at 0 No calls on any of the Pitt holds and offsides If we exclude Seattle and Pittsburgh, we get the following sampling of the media with articles on the horrible calls: ESPN Fox SI Slate Miami Herald USA Today Football Outsiders Mercury News etc. etc. etc. plus just about every poster on any news/sports related board. For those posters that think the game was not significantly affected by the poor officiating, try wandering around the internet and read what the people from the other 30 teams think, it’s an overwhelming avalanche of disbelief at the refs calls. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/86 "2006-02-07T12:37:36Z")
> [@igloorex](#): > > This was the most egregiously bad call in the entire game. The receiver caught the ball, tucked it away and took a complete step (maybe even two). Live it was obviously a fumble. On replay, it was a truly unbelievable call. I couldn’t believe the announcers weren’t going berzerk, though it was mentioned in passing at the start of the next play. Try reading the rest of the thread. The rule is “two feet down AND a ‘football move’”. The second his second foot came down, the ball came out. Nothing close to a football move on that play. And, **ZebraShaSha** needs to watch better. On the Rothlis. spot, he went down where they marked it, and skipped ahead about a yard. I thought it was a bad spot in real time, but on the replay, it was a fine spot. And Al Michaels saw it in real time and said right off, “that’s going to be close”. It’s moot anyway, since even the spot he did get was a first down. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/87 "2006-02-07T14:29:46Z")
Moving thread about blind refs from IMHO to The BBQ Pit. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/88 "2006-02-07T15:11:23Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > Actually, it’s going to be remembered because the Steelers won their fifth. > > Pittsburgh-5 > Seattle-0 > > Rest on that. OK, now you’re just being an ass, man. Be a good sport. Be a good winner. Don’t be an ass. Seattle did get the short end of the stick in regards to _interpreting_ the calls, but the Refs did not hand Pitt the game. They won it by making the three big plays (TDs) that Seattle couldn’t. It was a a boring game. It was a poorly reffed game. It was a poorly played game (yes, BOTH teams sucked ass, except for the afore mentioned 3 good Steeler plays). But for anyone who calls themselves a fan of football to behave in such a pisspoor fashion as **AD,USAF** is this thread is pretty low. Enough of the fucking taunts. And to everyone else, ah, fuck it… ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/89 "2006-02-07T15:30:58Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > But for anyone who calls themselves a fan of football to behave in such a pisspoor fashion as **AD,USAF** is this thread is pretty low. Enough of the fucking taunts. Not everybody agrees with his point of view. Notice what my taunt was in response to. It was in response to someone saying that the Seahawks would have won, the refs gave the game to the Steelers, blah blah blah, the usual sore loser stuff. I am willing to admit that it really comes down to whose ox is being gored. On the other hand, a few years ago when the refs called the ticky-tack running into the kicker on the Steelers after Nedney missed the field goal in overtime which gave him a second chance, I was outraged at first, then I was accepting, and then I was pragmatic about it. This thread is just a bunch of whining, with no admission that Seattle’s play had anything to do with their losing. It’s all just “the refs threw the game”. What a load. You want good sportsmanship? Fine. Show me some, and I’ll reciprocate it. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/90 "2006-02-07T15:37:34Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > What a load. You want good sportsmanship? Fine. Show me some, and I’ll reciprocate it. Go back into your MPS thread and see me congratulate the Steelers after beating Denver. Was I sore? Yeah. But sportmanship came first. It should come first from you, too, imho. Don’t reciprocate, initiate. FWIW, a lot of Seahawks fans are being whiney pussies, again imho. Competition is one thing. Team pride and all that. But poor sportsmanship is just distasteful. “You want sportsmanship? I AM sportmanship!” \* \*Guess who I’m quoting? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/91 "2006-02-07T15:39:39Z")
I’m glad this made it to the pit without help from me. A few points I’d like to comment on: 1. Skip Bayless is a shithead who was [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=bayless/060130](http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=bayless/060130)]bitching about how the Steelers didn’t deserve to win against the Bengals, Colts or Broncos before the Superbowl. His opinion isn’t worth dick. 2. It’s funny to see the evolution of the whining. From “Wow, the refs were one-sided, but the Seahawks lost the game on their own” to “The Seahawks steamrolled through the sieve-like Steelers defense and would have won if only they weren’t ripped off by the refs (oh, and maybe hadn’t dropped so many balls).” 3. What’s odd is that nobody is commenting on the number of balls that Hasselbeck heaved up well over everyone’s heads, or into coverage, or into no man’s land. He would have had two picks to Ike Taylor, except Ike was born with feet for hands and let a really easy one bounce off his hands in the first half. He played like shit, but in the revisionist’s brain, he was Brett Montana Brady. 4. I think this whole “controversy” is a product of two things: whiney Seahawks fans and a sports press that writes like little kids playing soccer (or the White House press corps). “What are they writing about? I better write about that!” “Wait a minute, everybody is writing about that. I better write about how pathetic it is to write about that and in turn, how wrong everyone else was about their opinions about the first thing!” 1. If the refs had it out so badly for Seattle, why did they wave off the helmet to helmet contact penalty in the first quarter? Apart from their coach, the Seahawks players seem to be handling this with a great deal of class, and I respect them for it. Of all people, it would be easiest for them to complain that they were not successful for reasons other than themselves. Yet, by and large, they aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/92 "2006-02-07T15:40:44Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Go back into your MPS thread and see me congratulate the Steelers after beating Denver. It was the general you, not you as in **NoClueBoy** > [@](#): > > \*Guess who I’m quoting? 😉 I don’t know. You? ---
**Author:** ![Flyhalf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea5d25/32.png) [@Flyhalf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyhalf)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/93 "2006-02-07T15:41:12Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > This thread is just a bunch of whining, with no admission that Seattle’s play had anything to do with their losing. It’s all just “the refs threw the game”. > > What a load. You want good sportsmanship? Fine. Show me some, and I’ll reciprocate it. I swear I’m not trying to be a jerk, but you do seem to be gloating over a poorly played game (forget the officiating). Yes, the Steelers won (yay for us), but it’s definitely nothing to write home about. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/94 "2006-02-07T15:47:38Z")
Survivor Judd. Ah well, enough of my venting. Maybe I can catch a good basketball game on ESPN tonight. Hey, is there still NHL? Take your trophy home. Admire it. For the awesome regular season finish and great road playoff run. Quit gloating over a piss poor SB. And to the other guys, wah, wah, wah… stfu. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/95 "2006-02-07T15:50:54Z")
> [@Flyhalf](#): > > I swear I’m not trying to be a jerk, but you do seem to be gloating over a poorly played game (forget the officiating). > > Yes, the Steelers won (yay for us), but it’s definitely nothing to write home about. You’re not being a jerk. On the contrary, you’re exactly right. The Steelers did play a poor game. And you’re right, the gameplay itself is nothing to write home about. But dammit, the Seahawks played just as poorly if not more so, they had ample opportunity to win, and they didn’t. They capitalized on the one big mistake the Steelers made all night, and the Steelers capitalized on their mistakes. That’s the bottom line. ---
**Author:** ![Flyhalf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea5d25/32.png) [@Flyhalf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyhalf)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/96 "2006-02-07T15:57:02Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > You’re not being a jerk. On the contrary, you’re exactly right. The Steelers did play a poor game. And you’re right, the gameplay itself is nothing to write home about. > > But dammit, the Seahawks played just as poorly if not more so, they had ample opportunity to win, and they didn’t. They capitalized on the one big mistake the Steelers made all night, and the Steelers capitalized on their mistakes. That’s the bottom line. Agreed. See post #50. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/97 "2006-02-07T17:04:16Z")
Any chance of the NFL looking into hiring refs full time? Because these complaints didn’t start with the Super Bowl. ( **Airman** , am I imagining things, or were their complaints from Super Bowl XXX (aka, Porno Bowl)? I seem to remember there were some calls against the Steelers that went in the Cowboys’ favor.) ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/98 "2006-02-07T20:32:05Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > …and if you think I’m thinking that this is a “tainted” win you’d better think again. The Lombardi Trophy looks the same no matter how you win it. \We’ve secretly replaced **Airman Doors’** coffee with a cup of What The Fuck. Do you think he’ll notice? \ Seriously, do you even realize that you’ve just totally contradicted yourself? You’re totally entitled to be as rabid a fan as you’d like. And you’re entitled to be as blind to the actual game play as you’d like. But these two statements don’t match. Get out your Garanimals and try again. I’m a Patriot’s fan, but I have respected the play of the Steeler’s and their coach and I do believe they won their way into the Super Bowl. They fought hard and they fought clean and they have more than one season of good game play that got them there. I have nothing against the Seahawks. I don’t know much about them, but they must have done something right to get there. I didn’t think much of the Steeler’s fans who decided to boo the Hawks and Tom Brady, but hey, we can’t all be good sports, I guess. As far as the actual Super Bowl game, though, it played out like a bunch of 6th graders at their first co-ed dance being chaperoned by blind nuns. It was more than a quarter into the game before the Steelers’ testicles descended. The Seahawks, in the meantime, found the early power of their budding breasts, but kept having to stop to adjust their brastraps. The play was as even as an ocean of hormonal waves. It was amusing in a way, frustrating in another, but overall, not a Super Bowl level game in the least. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/99 "2006-02-07T20:54:38Z")
A comment about another play that I don’t believe was mentioned yet. This was on one of the passes to, iirc, Darrell Jackson (although it could have been Bobby Engram). I think they’d thrown one where he came down clearly out of bounds. Then there was a second pass where he caught the ball, got one foot down, then his other foot hit the pylon enroute to going out of bounds. Don’t recall whether it was officially reviewed (it was reviewed by Michaels and Madden). Call: out of bounds, no catch. Problem is, there was a rule change either last year or the year before, and it should have been ruled complete catch and possibly a touchdown, depending on whether the ball crossed the plane. At the worst it’s a Seattle first down inside the one yard line. Note: I think they both played poorly enough to lose and I want my four hours back. Even the commercials weren’t all that. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/100 "2006-02-07T20:55:05Z")
> [@SaintCad](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > On the other hand, I’m even more convinced about the interference call. ‘Swatting the defender’s arm away from him’??? Yeesh. Hand is placed on chest as the elbow is flexed; hand stays there as receiver changes direction away from the defender and towards the ball; arm extends fully (or almost fully). Push. Off. > > Even if that were true (but it’s not), that sort of slap and tickle is almost never called _if the defender is also touching the receiver_ (like in this case) A) It’s absolutely true; I’m not even talking about intent or the overall effect, merely the mechanics of what actually occurred (which anyone can see, and which constitutes a push off, by definition). If anything, I’m understating it. To me, it’s pretty clear that Jackson _intended_ to push off, and that he used that push to help him change direction so quickly. B) The reason it’s seldom called is that the official is rarely in a position to differentiate between incidental contact and actual pass interference. This time, the ref was in perfect position. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191.md?page=6)