# 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:** 6
**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, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/101 "2006-02-07T21:02:35Z")
**Airman** , if the calls were good, why is it there such a huge controversy, bigger than any I have ever seen in sports regarding officiating? Sports writers, commentators during the game, fans of all teams, ESPN polls, postings on message boards, etc. etc. etc. I’ve never seen protests of this magnitude by fans of all teams. Given all of that, don’t you think that, just possibly all of these other people might have a valid point? ---
**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, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/102 "2006-02-07T21:07:47Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > 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. I believe this one was called correctly. Before the rule change in 2002 hitting the pylon was considered out of bounds. The rule change basically said the pylon is in bounds not out of bounds. But the rule change did not alter the rules for a pass reception, you still have to get 2 feet to touch the ground. This question was specifically answered last November on some web site and if I remember correctly the source was a contact in the NFL. ---
**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, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/103 "2006-02-07T21:17:47Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > There were only two bad calls against the Seahawks (holding call, cut block call) and one against the Steelers (Stevens fumble). So not calling delay of game when the clock reads ZERO and then allowing a time out, you would consider that a good call??? The beauty is that, just like the replay they showed on TV, there is nothing to debate on that one, go watch it, it’s a blown call. > [@](#): > > None of them came on touchdowns. So 1st down on the 1 or 2 doesn’t become a touchdown? Considering we got yards on almost every single running play, I think this is a safe bet. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/104 "2006-02-07T22:17:11Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > So not calling delay of game when the clock reads ZERO and then allowing a time out, you would consider that a good call??? As I remember, the announcers talked about this when it happened and Madden said that it was pretty much accepted in the league that you had a “beat” after the clock hit zero to do whatever you were going to do. The reason is that the timing official is watching the clock and after the clock hits zero, he has to look down and see if the ball has moved or timeout has been called. Madden seemed to think it was more a case of Ben acting as an experienced quarterback than any kind of bad call. The implication was that it happens all the time. ---
**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 8, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/105 "2006-02-08T00:27:39Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > So not calling delay of game when the clock reads ZERO and then allowing a time out, you would consider that a good call??? > > The beauty is that, just like the replay they showed on TV, there is nothing to debate on that one, go watch it, it’s a blown call. I could see where you might be confused by this if you’d never watched an NFL game in your life before. Its extraordinarily common to see the game clock turn 0 before the snap with no flag thrown. In fact, I would wager that you have never seen nor will you ever see a flag thrown just as the clock turns 0. > [@](#): > > So 1st down on the 1 or 2 doesn’t become a touchdown? > > Considering we got yards on almost every single running play, I think this is a safe bet. Perhaps, but again, any knowledge of football would tell you that the goalline D is different than the D that Alexander was running against most of the time. The difference between the Seahawks and the Steelers was that when the Steelers had a play that took them into the red zone overturned on an offensive pass interference call against Heath Miller, they didn’t well up with tears and quit. Hell, even after taking another 8 yards on a sack on the next play, they completed a 37 yard pass play, on the strength of Roethlisberger scrambling and keeping the play alive, to convert 3rd down. I haven’t seen endless replays and bitching and moaning about the offensive pass interference call against Heath Miller that took them out of the red zone. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/106 "2006-02-08T00:59:25Z")
I wasn’t going to weigh in on this thread. I’m a Seahawks fan, but it’s just a damn football game, and Seattle lost. The Seahawks beat themselves. Not the refs, and not the Steelers. Dropped passes, catching a ball two steps out of bounds… that’s not how you win football games. Yes, the 'Hawks had their share of calls go their way in the regular season. Funny that I don’t remember any in the post-season (like that flag that was thrown _and picked back up_ against Carolina). Previously Seattle’s gameplay had been good enough to overcome one or two calls, because that’s what good teams do. They didn’t do it in the Superbowl, end of story. Sure, if you reverse a couple of calls then the Seahawks woulda-coulda-shoulda won by 3 points, but then again, they could have made those points up on other plays (and didn’t). **This does not change the fact that the NFL should examine its officiating.** For the sake of its image and for the perception of fairness they have to do better than their customary “private internal review” or fans will be turned away. This entire postseason was fraught with officiating controversies and that can’t be good for the health of their fan base. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/107 "2006-02-08T05:21:16Z")
I just rewatched the game. The worst, and most egregious penalty in terms of its effect was the holding call on the Stevens catch at the 1. There was just no holding there. The umpire had a bad angle to see that, though. Not nearly so important, but much more WTF: blocking call on Hasselbeck. At an odd angle, it could’ve looked like hade me a cut block (although he never made any contact with the blocker and it would’ve been clear he was going for the ball carrier) that was a flag that could’ve been picked up. The Roethlisfathead touchdown - there was no truly conclusive evidence to overturn the call either way, so the fault is with the line judge, not the head ref’s review. Whatever he did was just wrong. People here say that the ball barely broke the plane while he was in the air - if that was what the line judge was calling, he certainly didn’t look like it. He didn’t make the actual call until after Burger was down. I think his line of thought was something like “oh shit oh shit oh shit, what do I call? Um… touchdown!” ---
**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 8, 2006, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/108 "2006-02-08T12:53:45Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I just rewatched the game. > > The worst, and most egregious penalty in terms of its effect was the holding call on the Stevens catch at the 1. There was just no holding there. The umpire had a bad angle to see that, though. Does anyone have a video or still of this play? It seems to me that Locklear holds on that play in a manner similar to the way he did early in the game. On the first one, he was beaten to the outside, so he basically clotheslined Haggans. He was similarly beaten on that play, but rather than extend his arm across Haggans’ neck, he tucked it down to his side and held Haggans’ arm that way. You just can’t wrap up on a defender, be it a neck, the body or an arm, especially when he’s by you. Unless, of course, you think that Haggans wanted to keep his arm in the warm and loving embrace of Locklear, or that he actually does run with his feet preceding him by a yard, ala Fred Flintstone. I wish we could all take a look at it together. After hearing so often about how “even John Madden said it wasn’t holding” or “even John Madden said it wasn’t a push-off,” I’m feeling more and more that his grudge against the Steelers, and his resultant questioning of most of the refs calls, shaped people’s opinions of the overall officiating. So sad to see you go, you big fat stupid 1970’s also-ran. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/109 "2006-02-08T13:09:31Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > After hearing so often about how “even John Madden said it wasn’t holding” or “even John Madden said it wasn’t a push-off,” I’m feeling more and more that his grudge against the Steelers, and his resultant questioning of most of the refs calls, shaped people’s opinions of the overall officiating. So sad to see you go, you big fat stupid 1970’s also-ran. Man, do you truly believe that one bad call\* back in the 70s has him with an axe to still grind against Pittsburgh lo’ all these years later? And I’ve not noticed anyone saying “Madden has thus spake, so it must be so”. In fact so many pundits have said it was a bad call that Madden is just sort of lost in the noise. I normally discount what the TV guys say, since it seems that they’re lost in their own little world most of the time. The real tragedy of the officiating in that game is that it has screwed the Steelers. I personally think that the Seahawks would probably have found a way to lose, or the Steelers a way to win, if the calls had been correct or more balanced. But because of mediocre officiating it will be remembered, by those outside of Pittsburgh, as the Super Bowl which the refs gifted the Steelers. Which is sad and not fair to the Steelers organization. \*It was a bad call at the time, although there was no replay to see that back then and the rule was since changed so that the play would have been legal had it occurred today. ---
**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 8, 2006, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/110 "2006-02-08T13:29:55Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Man, do you truly believe that one bad call\* back in the 70s has him with an axe to still grind against Pittsburgh lo’ all these years later? You laugh, but yes, that play still infuriates him. He still thinks he got cheated and will tell you so if you bring it up. ---
**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 8, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/111 "2006-02-08T13:31:20Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > \*It was a bad call at the time, although there was no replay to see that back then and the rule was since changed so that the play would have been legal had it occurred today. It was a good call at the time, and it was legal then. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/112 "2006-02-08T13:39:41Z")
I have read all the posts to this, and all similar threads, and herewith render my judgement: Pittsburgh fans may rejoice that they are the official VICTORS, however tainted and undeserved that victory may be, learn to live with it, Seattle fans may commiserate that they WAS ROBBED, and they were, and you all should learn to live with that. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/113 "2006-02-08T13:50:58Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > It was a good call at the time, and it was legal then. No it wasn’t, and it wasn’t. It was one of those things that they changed the rules on later because frankly it was pretty cool. Unlike the tuck rule, which was “clarified” and never had made much sense. Hey, the Raiders got burned on that one, too. Maybe there _is_ a vast anti-Al Davis conspiracy! 😉 The rule at the time was that if an offensive player touched the ball then a second offensive player could not make a legal catch of the ball. When Franco Harris caught the ball it came off of a Steeler receiver (I forget which one). One of the Raiders DBs, Willie Brown(?), made a swipe at it but never touched the ball. I don’t know if it should have been a penalty or an incompletion, but it should NOT have been a touchdown. Of course it’s academic because there was no instant replay at the time. Incidentally the “instant replay” movement gained momentum after the Raiders were jobbed on another call, maybe against the Dolphins in an AFC playoff game. Aaron, were you even born at the time of the game or are you just taking this on advice of your ancestors? Greg ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/114 "2006-02-08T13:58:25Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > Does anyone have a video or still of this play? It seems to me that Locklear holds on that play in a manner similar to the way he did early in the game. On the first one, he was beaten to the outside, so he basically clotheslined Haggans. He was similarly beaten on that play, but rather than extend his arm across Haggans’ neck, he tucked it down to his side and held Haggans’ arm that way. You just can’t wrap up on a defender, be it a neck, the body or an arm, especially when he’s by you. Haggans was beating him to the outside, and Locklear did have his arm extended to his side, but he wasn’t wrapping his arm around him, but rather still pushing on his shoulder, on the inside, with his arm extended at his side. It could easily look like holding to someone seeing it from the position of the umpire, but it was a clean block - he pushed at the inside of the shoulder without wrapping up, albeit with his arm extended outwards. It was a clean block. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/115 "2006-02-08T14:01:03Z")
I don’t know how I managed to be redundant like 5 times in such a small post. Just woke up. Anyway, one of the keys to figuring out holding is that the hands have to be inside the defender’s shoulders and pushing, not pulling, to be a legitimate block, and that’s the case in this block. ---
**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 8, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/116 "2006-02-08T14:06:27Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > No it wasn’t, and it wasn’t. It was one of those things that they changed the rules on later because frankly it was pretty cool. Unlike the tuck rule, which was “clarified” and never had made much sense. Hey, the Raiders got burned on that one, too. Maybe there _is_ a vast anti-Al Davis conspiracy! 😉 Yes it is, and it was. > [@](#): > > The rule at the time was that if an offensive player touched the ball then a second offensive player could not make a legal catch of the ball. When Franco Harris caught the ball it came off of a Steeler receiver (I forget which one). One of the Raiders DBs, Willie Brown(?), made a swipe at it but never touched the ball. I don’t know if it should have been a penalty or an incompletion, but it should NOT have been a touchdown. Of course it’s academic because there was no instant replay at the time. Incidentally the “instant replay” movement gained momentum after the Raiders were jobbed on another call, maybe against the Dolphins in an AFC playoff game. The names you are looking for are Jack “The Assassin” Tatum and John “Frenchy” Fuqua. Now, an objective (which I can be because I have nothing to gain by being right) look at the play will demonstrate that Tatum came back to the ball and ran into Fuqua at the same time that the ball got there. The ball deflected in the direction that Tatum was moving, indicating that he hit Frenchy so hard that the man should have been in the hospital or he hit the ball and deflected it away. Equal and opposite reaction, right? Here’s the old rule: "If a defensive player touches pass first, or simultaneously with or subsequent to its having been touched by only one eligible offensive player, then all offensive players become and remain eligible. If you have RealPlayer or RealAlternative you can watch it [here](http://football.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=football&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fgreatsportsrivalries.com%2Fimmaculate_reception%2Fimmaculatereception_videoclips.html) In any event, it has been determined by people far more intelligent than I that Tatum did, in fact, hit the ball. From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_reception#Resolution.3F): > [@](#): > > An article on the physics of the Immaculate Reception appeared in the science section of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on October 18, 2004. The article describes the work of John Fetkovich, an emeritus professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon University. Fetkovitch’s analysis of the NFL Films tape of the play led him to the conclusion, based the trajectory of the bounced ball and conservation of momentum, that the ball must have bounced off of Tatum, who was running upfield at the time, rather than Fuqua, who was running across and down the field. > > An addendum to the article stated that NBC’s video of the play, broadcast during the telecast of the 1998 AFC Championship game, clearly showed that the ball had hit Tatum. If you would like to argue with this I would remind you that you can edit Wikipedia at will. > [@](#): > > Aaron, were you even born at the time of the game or are you just taking this on advice of your ancestors? > > Greg Nope, I wasn’t born then, and neither was my son. I’m Dave, not Aaron. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/117 "2006-02-08T14:09:29Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > Nope, I wasn’t born then, and neither was my son. I’m Dave, not Aaron. 🙂 D’oh! I guess there’s worse things one could do then confuse the son with the father. I’m sure someday he’ll consider it a compliment. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/118 "2006-02-08T14:11:27Z")
Also, your link has been disabled by the owners. I’m betting that either NFL lawyers or the Warren Commission has been involved. ---
**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 8, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/119 "2006-02-08T14:12:26Z")
It figures. I’ll try to find another one. ---
**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 8, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191/120 "2006-02-08T14:26:18Z")
Well, that one used to work. It looks like you can find anything on the Internet except what NFL Films doesn’t want you to have. Ah, what the hell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abyssmal-super-bowl-officiating/343191.md?page=7)