My brother
called me Friday and told me about a dream he had had about
the Super Bowl. He dreamt that the Seahawks scored first,
the Steelers won big, but the game was overshadowed by some
huge controversy.
Steeler
Joey Porter couldn't have said it better, four weeks ago: "I
felt that they were like, 'We don't even care if you know
we're cheating. We're cheating for them.'"
As I sit
here now, I'm still stunned at what I watched. I've seen NFL
games that I felt had questionable officiating, but I have
never thought that an NFL game was rigged, that the referees
and/or the league cheated. Until now. For the first time
that I can remember, I'm glad this was the last NFL game
this season, because I don't want to watch it again or hear
anything about it for a long time.
As I sat
there processing what I was watching, I started wondering if
I was the only one thinking the NFL was just going to cheat
and give the Steelers their first Super Bowl win since the
1970s. I'd guess most of the people at my party were
cheering for the Seahawks. So, it wasn't a surprise to hear
them start to talk about a conspiracy theory. But, it was
the staunchest Steelers fan who made me think I was onto
something.
"I just
wish the circumstances were different," he said as he left.
I asked him what he meant. "It just seemed like they made
some terrible calls against Seattle."
My friend
Chuck Booms, who was a radio host on Fox Sports Radio for a
few years, had more of the same for me.
"I can't
remember a big game in the NFL that had more blatant
cheating than this one," he said. He told me he knows about
cheating. A big Kentucky fan, he admits that the Wildcats
wouldn't be one of the premiere teams in the history of
college basketball without a little help from the refs.
I've talked
to several other people who have all felt the same way. But,
it was an e-mail from a stranger that hit me the hardest:
"I would
like to know how it is we get officials like that in the
Super Bowl. They basically stole the game from Seattle, and
that is BS. Momentum is everything and every time Seattle
had it, the refs screwed them with BS calls. Those refs need
to be fined huge for the shitty job they did. This is the
first Super Bowl I have got to watch in two years because I
have been deployed in Iraq, and after seeing the calls today
on Super Bowl Sunday, I will never watch another because the
refs obviously were bought off."
I have
stopped paying much attention to the NBA and college
basketball in recent years because I've felt that many games
in each are decided first and foremost by the officials (all
you have to do is watch the end of Duke's last two games to
see that). But, I've long held that the NFL was different.
Football was different. Big games weren't, and couldn't be,
decided by the refs.
I was
wrong.
When the
Patriots got very questionable calls against them in the
divisional round against the Denver Broncos, I said the
Patriots deserved to lose for having brain fades on five key
plays, though I certainly did raise an eyebrow from the
seemingly onesided calls.
I didn't
say the Patriots, my favorite team, were the victims of
cheating by the refs, as I don't point to the refs for any
loss New England has endured.
This game,
though – this one is different. I'm not a Seahawks fan; I'm
not a Steelers fan. I came to cheer for the Seahawks this
week because I was tired of hearing about Jerome Bettis and
the Steelers. But, I didn't have much of a rooting interest
in the game.
Still, as
an NFL fan, it sucked to watch the refs cheat over and over
again to ensure Pittsburgh of a victory.
The first
and worst one was surely the made-up pass interference
penalty against Darrell Jackson in the first quarter that
took a Seahawks touchdown off the board. Steelers free
safety Chris Hope grabs Jackson and Jackson gets away; then
Hope grabs Jackson again and Jackson hits Hope's hand away
and catches the touchdown. It even prompted John Madden to
comment, "When you think of push-offs, that's not the kind
you think about, really." That call just doesn't get made.
Ever.
You've
gotta also look at the calls that were waved off. There was
an illegal hit that was called on Seattle's Michael Boulware,
who was accused by the official of leading with his helmet.
Of course, the official had made it up and, luckily, it was
waved off. Same with the fumble by Hasselbeck in the fourth
quarter; the refs were all too quick to call a fumble before
instant replay showed there was no way they could keep the
fumble call and not be called cheaters by even Bill Cowher.
That call
was a sign of things to come later in the game when Matt
Hasselbeck was called inexplicably for an illegal hit below
the knew after an interception, despite the fact that
Hasselbeck never even hit the blocker's legs (which is what
the officials called). But,
this was going to be the Steelers' night, so it didn't
matter to at least one ref whether something actually
happened or not.
The last
penalty called on Pittsburgh in the game came with 4:40 left
in the second quarter. It was a pass-interference call that
negated a four-yard reception. It was on first down, leaving
the Steelers with three downs to make it up. Six plays later
was the second monstrous bad call by the refs:
Roethlisberger's phantom touchdown. The line judge spots the
ball short of the goal line and you can see him running in
to spot it at the 2-inch line. He then changes his mind
when Roethlisberger, who was already down, moves the ball
from the 2-inch line to the end zone. The head ref takes a
look at it and upholds the call. Why have instant replay if
you're going to get the call wrong? The ball clearly never
crosses the line: Roethlisberger's hand never crosses the
line, and the ball is falling backwards from the end zone as
Roethlisberger dives. You can see the hand of D. D. Lewis
(the defender) outside of the end zone holding
Roethlisberger's hand and the ball out of the end zone. But,
again – it's the Steelers' game, so they give him the
touchdown.
Not to be
outdone by their other calls, they may have saved their most
brilliant for last. With the Seahawks marching to take the
lead in the fourth quarter, down 14-10, offensive holding is
called on the Seahawks after a completed pass to tight end
Jerammy Stevens should have given them first-and-goal on the
two.
Madden said
it perfectly: "[Sean] Locklear makes a pretty good move with
that right arm. Ooh, I didn't see holding."
Two plays
later, Joey Porter commits a horse-collar tackle on Shaun
Alexander, yet he is not called for a penalty. Al Michaels
said of the play: "close to a horse-collar, but no call."
No, Al, it was a horse-collard. But you're right about the
no call.
On the next
play, Matt Hasselbeck throws an interception and is then
called for the absurd "block below the waist" penalty,
despite never hitting the blocker below
the waist. Hasselbeck tackled the ball carrier low, which is
legal. Here's Al Michaels again:
"Here's the
deal on this play. We think it's a bad call. If Hasselbeck
is making a tackle, he can go low. If you go low on a
blocker, and the call was that he went low on 26 Townsend,
that was a cut." Of course, he never even touched Townsend,
though Townsend did push Hasselbeck in the back, which
should have been a penalty on the Steelers. But, as I've
said, the refs decided this was the Steelers' night, so no
call on them.
With the
improved field position, they had to run only three plays
for the 15 yards they needed to run their gadget play for
the game-sealing touchdown.
The
Seahawks had more first downs, 20 to 14. They had the ball
longer, 33:02 to 26:58. They had fewer turnovers, one to
two. Hasselbeck outpassed Roethlisberger, 273 yards to 123
yards. Alexander outrushed Parker, 95 yards to 93 yards.
But, in
this game, the Seahawks lost the one battle that ended up
being the one they couldn’t overcome. The Seahawks were
called for seven penalties for 70 yards. The Steelers: three
penalties for a whopping 20 yards.
Why did
this happen? I don't know. It could be that Holmgren called
out one of the refs years ago and the ref never forgot it.
It could simply be that the NFL will make more money now
that the Steelers have won than if the Seahawks had won. For
whatever reason, though, someone on that crew decided that
Pittsburgh was going to win. And they got what they wanted.
I can't
remember a Super Bowl champion playing so badly in a game.
And I certainly can't remember a team getting outplayed and
winning. I'm sure it's happened; I just can't remember it.
Some people
will try to dismiss this because I didn't want the Steelers
to win. I'll give you that I wanted the Seahawks to win.
But, even if I was Paul Allen, that doesn't erase the facts
I've listed here. It doesn't erase the tape of the game I've
now watched one-and-a-half times since the game was over.
Whether I had wanted the Seahawks to win or not, that
doesn't change the fact that someone, or a few someones,
cheated.
I'm left
here sad now, because I just didn't expect this from the
NFL. It was the last league I really enjoyed watching. After
this game, and now looking back at the divisional-round
games, I've got to wonder what I can expect from the NFL
next season. I wonder if my team is going to be one of the
ones picked by the powers that be to do well. It's a feeling
I've never had regarding the NFL. It just sucks.
Wake me
up when it's over
Forget
about a completely forgettable game. Everything surrounding
the game was just boring. The commercials were just totally
lame. The only semi-laugh at a commercial came from the
Kathy Griffin Mist commercial. But, I think that was just
because the gays love KG. The commercials in general have
really been shitty in the last few years, but this year took
the cake.
Who OK'd
that Burger King commercial with the Whopperettes? And that
Dove commercial? I mean, it was heartwarming and all, but
give us some laughs. Spend a couple bucks. This is the Super
Bowl, for crying out loud.
The
'Stones? Ugh. Dear NFL, Next time, please find someone who
was not alive during World War I to perform.
When even
I'm ready to turn the TV off before the game is over, I've
got to imagine the ratings are going to be down for the
game.
--Pittsburgh's
21-10 Super Bowl XL win over the Seattle Seahawks may
have been one for the thumb, but it certainly wasn't one for
the ages. It was fitting that the key play of one of the
most lackluster Super Bowls in recent memory was a holding
penalty.
Only a
Steeler diehard (and I watched with one) will remember this
game fondly a week from now. Bad play calling, dropped
passes, killer interceptions and questionable officiating
made this game less than super.
Ben
Roethlisberger was 9 for 21 passing for only 123 yards and
two interceptions. He had a quarterback rating of 22.6,
which is horrible. Those are numbers more often seen in a
losing quarterback, not one whose team won by 11. I haven't
looked it up, but it may be the worst rating for a winning
Super Bowl quarterback. He did make some big plays, but had
Big Ben played like this in any of the three AFC playoff
games, the Steelers would have been home watching on
Sunday.
The holding
call that turned the game came midway through the third
quarter, with the Steelers clinging to a 14-10 lead. Seattle
quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (who was 26 for 49, with several
drops) had just hit tight end Jerramy Stevens (three drops)
down to the Steelers 1. But the play was negated when right
tackle Sean Locklear was called for holding. Replays seemed
to indicate it was a marginal call, and was reflective of
lame officiating all day. A few plays after the call,
Hasselbeck threw an interception and the Steelers got the
game-clinching touchdown on a gadget play, a 43-yard pass
from receiver Antwaan Randle El (who threw a batter pass
than Big Ben did all day) to MVP Hines Ward.
--There
were several other shaky calls. Seattle receiver Darrell
Jackson clearly did push off in the end zone on an offensive
pass interference call that wiped out a touchdown. However,
we see receivers do that in every game and it's seldom
called. I think Jackson got flagged because he pushed off
right in front of the ref and because the push was pretty
blatant, with Jackson extending his elbow out.
I'm
still not sure if Roethlisberger got the ball over the
goal line on a touchdown run late in the first half. I think
this was a case where the ruling on the field was not
overturned because the replays were inconclusive; I watched
the play a dozen times and still have no idea whether any
part of the ball crossed the plane. Had the original call
been no TD, that would have not been overturned. Outsports'
Jim Allen said he clearly saw part of the ball cross, saying
it was the right call. We may never know.
A blown
call was Hasselbeck being called for an illegal block when
he made a tackle on his interception. The officials thought
Hasselbeck went low on a blocker, when he actually was
tackling the interceptor, Ike Taylor.
--Cyd,
writing to my left, went way overboard with conspiracy
theories. The Seahawks did themselves in more than the refs.
The game was not rigged, the officials did not cheat (bad
calls do not equal cheating) and the Steelers deserved to
win. Also, no New England Patriots fan (as Cyd is) should
ever complain about the officials after the infamous "tuck
rule" call kept the Pats alive in the 2001 playoffs against
Oakland. No team ever got a greater gift from the officials
in the playoffs than the Patriots did that night.
--What is amusing is
that three weeks ago Steelers loudmouth linebacker Joey
Porter went off, saying the officials cheated to try and
help the Colts beat the Steelers. I don't think Joey or many
Steeler fans will have too much bad to say about Sunday's
officiating crew.
--Homoerotic
moment of the game came when the camera zoomed in on a
player getting his groin area massaged. "They
took his pants off – what are they looking at?" asked ABC's
John Madden.
--News
flash: Jerome Bettis was born in Detroit and the Super
Bowl was important for him since he is retiring, and he's
called "The Bus." In case you didn't know.
--ABC's
coverage was pedestrian at best. I watched at a party
with 15 people so hearing Al Michaels and Madden was tough.
But there were virtually no graphics that showed player
stats during the game. I had no idea how many yards
Seattle's Shaun Alexander had (a quiet 95), because ABC
never told us. Ditto for Roethlisberger's and Hasselbeck's
stats. A piss poor job by ABC and good riddance to them
showing the NFL.
--The
commercials were also lame. At my party, there were
almost no laughs for any of them.
--In case you missed them,
check out the pics of Roethlisberger looking
shit-faced drunk sometimes in the latter part of the season.
--For
all intents, Detroit's Ford Field was a Steeler home site.
A friend of mine covering the game, Billy Witz of the L.A.
Daily News, said 99% of the crowd was for the Steelers. He
joked that the Seahawks vaunted 12th Man was
accurate since there were 12 Seahawk fans in Detroit.
--I
picked the Steelers to win by 10, so the outcome wasn't
surprising. The Seahawks, though, lost the game in the first
half when they made it inside Pittsburgh territory four
times but came away with only a field goal. This was when
the Steelers were struggling and Seattle's ineptitude
allowed Pittsburgh to right itself. Seattle's defense, for
example, gave up a 37-yard play on third-and-28 that set up
Pittsburgh's first score.
--Seattle's clock
management was appalling, especially at the end of the
first half. The Seahawks got to the Steeler 36 with 54
seconds left, but were only able to gain four yards and run
off three plays in 47 seconds on a drive that wound up with
a missed long field goal.
--Despite
a less-than-impressive effort, the Steelers deserve the
title. They won three AFC playoff games on the road and last
lost a game on Dec. 4. In many ways, the real Super Bowl was
played Jan. 15, when the Steelers held off Indianapolis,
21-18, in the best game of the playoffs. The Steelers won
all their other playoff games by double digits.
--I've
always liked Steeler coach Bill Cowher, who had lost
four AFC title games and one Super Bowl going into this
season. Such a record would have had Cowher fired by most
owners, but he's lucky to play for Dan Rooney, an incredibly
patient man who takes the long-term view.
--Cowher is a coaching
protégé of San Diego's Marty Schottenheimer (Cowher
coached for him in Cleveland). The knock on the
Schottenheimer coaching tree (including Marty) is that they
can't win the big ones. This dogged Cowher for 13 years, as
it still does Schottenheimer and Tony Dungy. It just shows
that labels sometimes have a way to being shed.
--Big
Ben was refreshingly honest about his poor play. "To not
play my best and still win is amazing. I couldn't get it
done throwing the ball, for whatever reason. So we had to do
it a different way and run the ball. … Two interceptions --
that's the recipe for disaster -- yet, we won. I've bragged
on [my teammates] all year and always will."
--Had the Steelers lost,
Roethlisberger's interception at the Seattle 4 with
Pittsburgh threatening to take a 21-3 lead would have gone
down as the worst throw in Super Bowl history. Luckily for
him, his defense bailed him out. The Steelers held the
league's top-scoring team to 10 points and allowed only 62
points total in four playoff games. The Steel Curtain is
back.
--I have
come to dislike the New England Patriots, but at least
their Super Bowls have been thrillers. The Pats won all
three games by three points, while the last three without
them have been decided by 27, 27 and 11. The Pats haven't
been as dominant as past Super Bowl teams, but at least they
provide an exciting game.
--From
our message board: "Could we please ban Aaron Neville
from singing at these events? I'm sorry, but he just sucks.
He sounds like he's gasping for breath. What a way to
massacre the National Anthem."
--If
form holds, Seattle won’t make the playoffs next year.
That is a fate that has befallen the last five Super Bowl
losers. And all of those teams (New York Giants, St. Louis,
Oakland, Carolina and Philadelphia) looked like playoff
locks heading into the next season. I guess the hangover
from losing the big game must linger.
--Pittsburgh,
meanwhile, is the type of team that can win it all again.
Roethlisberger will only get better and the Steelers always
have a stout defense. However, the Steelers play in the
vastly superior AFC, so just winning the division is an
accomplishment.
--My
dream Super Bowl XLI? Colts vs. Cowboys (Peyton Manning
vs. Drew Bledsoe) with Phil Simms analyzing and Ed "Guns"
Hochuli officiating. I can always hope.
