Super Bowl XL was a fix!

[Ki'esha Foxx]

Okay, I don't know if it was or not, but the refs made some pretty terrible calls yesterday.

1) Penalty when Seattle would have had their first touchdown. It was called because of illegal use of hands or something when the Seahawk pushed the Steeler (I'm new to the teams, so I'm not familiar with their names right now). C'mon! Both guys reached out and made contact with the other. What was he supposed to do? Let the Steeler make him miss the interception? I wouldn't call it a penalty simply because both of the players made contact with each other and if a penalty was awarded (can you call it "awarded"?) it should have been given to both teams.

2) Pittsburgh did NOT have that second touchdown! The ball clearly touched the green when it was pulled into the Steeler's stomach and then reappeared in his hands to go into the endzone. The ball may have broken the line while he held it, but it that was in the air. It touched the green before it touched the white and Pittsburgh should not have gotten those seven points (one for the conversion, six for the touchdown).

Anway, I'm probably gonna get a whole lot of shit from Steelers' fans, so let me get down off my soapbox and break out the umbrella for the rotten vegetables. :D

By the way, halftime sucked! The only good commercials were the ones for Budweiser, V for Vendetta, FedEx, and the Sprint phone that acted as a crime detterent. That was hilarious to me!

[bfox1220]

Originally posted by Ki'esha Foxx
Okay, I don't know if it was or not, but the refs made some pretty terrible calls yesterday.

1) Penalty when Seattle would have had their first touchdown. It was called because of illegal use of hands or something when the Seahawk pushed the Steeler (I'm new to the teams, so I'm not familiar with their names right now). C'mon! Both guys reached out and made contact with the other. What was he supposed to do? Let the Steeler make him miss the interception? I wouldn't call it a penalty simply because both of the players made contact with each other and if a penalty was awarded (can you call it "awarded"?) it should have been given to both teams.

2) Pittsburgh did NOT have that second touchdown! The ball clearly touched the green when it was pulled into the Steeler's stomach and then reappeared in his hands to go into the endzone. The ball may have broken the line while he held it, but it that was in the air. It touched the green before it touched the white and Pittsburgh should not have gotten those seven points (one for the conversion, six for the touchdown).

Anway, I'm probably gonna get a whole lot of shit from Steelers' fans, so let me get down off my soapbox and break out the umbrella for the rotten vegetables. :D

By the way, halftime sucked! The only good commercials were the ones for Budweiser, V for Vendetta, FedEx, and the Sprint phone that acted as a crime detterent. That was hilarious to me!

Let me just say that I am a giant fan so i had no particular team i was rooting for. With that said I think that there were soem questionable calls but every call they made did make sense.

The offensive pass interference in the endzone was questionable but
but most refs would have called that because he appeared to push off of the Steeler defender.

The holding calls i felt were all completely true.

I would say that Seattle just couldnt capitalize on anyything...whether it was a missed field goal (although 50,54 yarders arent easy) or Jeremy Stevens dropping 5 balls. Those all couldve had a differnt positive effect on the seahawks.

I have been hearing lately on sport shows of how shaun alexander connot set the pace and tone of a game. Now not being a Seattl;e fan and only hearing about his 5.5 yard per carry... i thought this was bullshit but last night i saw what they saw. He couldnt get his team fired up and when they needed him he couldnt get it done. For example, when Pittsburgh needed a play Willie Parker got a 75 yard run which changed the momentum of the game.

So Yes i think it wasnt the best officiated games but it certaintly wasnt fixed.

BTW...the crime detternt commercial was great, i found the commercial when the guy tackles the girl and says "YOU WERE OPEN, BUT NOW YOUR CLOSED" great, and as stupid as it was i thought the "magic fridge " commercial was very funny.

[Ki'esha Foxx]

Originally posted by bfox1220
BTW...the crime detternt commercial was great, i found the commercial when the guy tackles the girl and says "YOU WERE OPEN, BUT NOW YOUR CLOSED" great, and as stupid as it was i thought the "magic fridge " commercial was very funny.

All hail the magic fridge!

I was being a tad sarcastic about saying the game was fixed, but some of the calls were not based on good judgement, in my opinion. But you can't go by me since the Super Bowl is the only sports program I ever watch.

I thought it would have been nice for the underdog team to pull through just so the 10% Seahawks fans would have had the chance to say to the Steelers fans "You got owned, biotch!" I always go for the underdog team, even though i knew deep down that Pittsburgh was going to win.

[TheDeadWalk]

My favorite commercial was the cell phone where they played the Benny Hill song.



Having said that, I fucking hate the Steelers.


But I don't want to call bullshit on the pass interference. Why? Because I was asked to examine this perspective:

"If Darrell Jackson had been on defense and intercepted that ball in the endzone, would there be any dispute about it being defensive interference?"

Well, no. I guess not. If a D-back just touches a wideout, a flag is thrown. It should go both ways.


As for the Roethlisberger TD, I don't think there was really any "conclusive" evidence to overturn the call. The call on the field was a TD, and in order for it to be overturned, there has to be un-disputable evidence for the TD to be reversed.


There. I stuck up for Pittsburgh. I need my ass beat.

[screamer581]

Originally posted by TheDeadWalk
My favorite commercial was the cell phone where they played the Benny Hill song.



Having said that, I fucking hate the Steelers.


But I don't want to call bullshit on the pass interference. Why? Because I was asked to examine this perspective:

"If Darrell Jackson had been on defense and intercepted that ball in the endzone, would there be any dispute about it being defensive interference?"

Well, no. I guess not. If a D-back just touches a wideout, a flag is thrown. It should go both ways.


As for the Roethlisberger TD, I don't think there was really any "conclusive" evidence to overturn the call. The call on the field was a TD, and in order for it to be overturned, there has to be un-disputable evidence for the TD to be reversed.


There. I stuck up for Pittsburgh. I need my ass beat.


Wow, there is a first time for everything. :) But I agree with everything you said...but ya know, I am a Steelers fan.

[AceD]

"Pittsburgh did NOT have that second touchdown! The ball clearly touched the green when it was pulled into the Steeler's stomach and then reappeared in his hands to go into the endzone. The ball may have broken the line while he held it, but it that was in the air."

I don't know if you're new to the game as a whole, but you answered your own argument: once the ball crosses the end line (in the air and in the possesion of the player) it's a touchdown. Running backs get hit, stretch the ball out, and if it crosses the plane it's a TD. Hitting the groud doesn't matter. The ball broke the line in the air, and from that moment it's a TD.

I do think the interference call on Seattle's first TD (the one that was called back) was weak. I can see where the ref got it (Darrell Jackson clearly extended his whole arm and the Steelers player didn't), but the extension of the arm didn't help him at all!

Whatever. Thankfully, the Seahawks saw the truth and said that the refs didn't help them but that they missed a lot of opportunities. I don't think the game was a fix, but there were bad calls for sure.

[bigred760]

-I agreed with the offensive pass interference call. The guy's arm was bent and against the defender than he pushed off (straightening his arm) and then caught the ball. If the defender can't touch or push the receiver, the same should be said for the receiver.

-I also agreed with the touchdown call (which I believe was the first TD, not second). The ball crossed the plane - that's all it takes. I don't care what Roethlisberger says (on Letterman) or the bitter Seahawks' fans say - they got the right call on that one.

BUT, I don't know about the holding call because most of the time I think they're holding when they're not and vice versa. And I think the 15-yd penalty against Hasselbeck was crap.

But for the most part, the Seahawks need to look at the big picture that they were dropping passes, missing field goals, throwing interceptions on fourth down, and letting Pittsburgh to run 60+ yards for a TD, to throw a TD from a receiver to a receiver, and to convert a 3rd and forever.

It wasn't the refs' fault. Get over it.

(Oh, by the way, I'm a Falcons fan - I really don't like either the Steelers or the Seahawks.)

[meccajay]

Seattle did miss a lot of opportunities, but still made enough to win.

Consider this..

The endzone interferance call.. Was bad because they ref was standing there watching the defender engage the reciever(and tug a lil Jersey) on the break, then choose to flag the reciever for pushing away from the hold. Why flag the 2nd offense not the 1st?

The pass play to the 1 yard line - There were 2 bad calls here, 1st there was an offsides by the Pittsburgh Defensive end(not called), then when the tackle engaged him and hooked the end he let go, but was flagged. Ticky-tack call at best! The thing to note here is that there was holding of this same sort(hooking) on 2 of the steelers big plays. Why flag Seattle but not Pittsburgh?

The Big Ben (non)touchdown - The linebacker hits big ben in the air, ben falls to the ground in the EXACT spot. The ref comes running in from the side and points down to the ground to signal the spot of the ball at the 1 inch line, then Ben moves the ball WHILE ON THE GROUND, and THEN the ref signals touchdown...why?
If he was not across in the air, and not across when he landed, HOW could he be across after the fact? Whats going on here? If he stuck to the original call, it would have not been overturned on replay.

I don't think it was fixed, but the refs lost there nerve and confidence and started second guess and they blew it, the Pittsburgh ref wasn't paid off, just favoring a little bit.

A little bit too much...

[meccajay]

From ESPN.com...


Do you think officiating mistakes affected the outcome of Super Bowl XL? (103,167 votes)
61.7% Yes
38.2% No

Which played the biggest role in determining the outcome of the game? (118,130 votes)
57.5% Officials missing calls
28.3% Seahawks not making plays
14.2% Steelers making plays


What grade would you give referee Bill Leavy's officiating crew for Super Bowl XL? (118,130 votes)
50.6% F
24.8% D
13.9% C
8.8% B
1.9% A

Do you think the official made the right call on Darrell Jackson's offensive pass interference in the endzone, negating a Seattle touchdown in the first quarter? (118,130 votes)
73.8% No
20.5% Yes
5.7% I'm not sure

Do you think the football broke the plane of the goal line on Ben Roethlisberger's touchdown run in the second quarter? (118,130 votes)
59.3% No
25.9% Yes
14.8% I'm not sure

Do you think the official made the right call on Sean Locklear's holding penalty in the fourth quarter, negating an 18-yard reception to the one-yard line by Jerramy Stevens? (118,130 votes)
74.3% No
15.3% Yes
10.4% I'm not sure

[bigred760]

Originally posted by meccajay

The Big Ben (non)touchdown - The linebacker hits big ben in the air, ben falls to the ground in the EXACT spot. The ref comes running in from the side and points down to the ground to signal the spot of the ball at the 1 inch line, then Ben moves the ball WHILE ON THE GROUND, and THEN the ref signals touchdown...why?
If he was not across in the air, and not across when he landed, HOW could he be across after the fact? Whats going on here? If he stuck to the original call, it would have not been overturned on replay.


I don't know about the rest - but Big Ben crossed the white line and then was hit and pushed back and fell on the one-yard line. That's what I saw live and then in the replay. That's why I think the touchdown stood. (Don't refs usually say when there's insufficient evidence?)

[meccajay]

Originally posted by bigred760
I don't know about the rest - but Big Ben crossed the white line and then was hit and pushed back and fell on the one-yard line. That's what I saw live and then in the replay. That's why I think the touchdown stood. (Don't refs usually say when there's insufficient evidence?)

He fell straight down.

Even if he didn't why did the ref point to the ground marking him down 1st?

[ToRontoRon]

My 2 cents...

A tiny part of the ball broke the plane of a tiny part of the white line. Therefore...

Touchdown.

As for the pass interference call negating the touchdown. A bit ticky, tack, but he did push off a tiny bit.


Both calls could have gone either way. Both were very close. The refs didn't influence the game at all. The Steelers won, fair and square.

[bigred760]

Originally posted by meccajay
He fell straight down.

Even if he didn't why did the ref point to the ground marking him down 1st?

I didn't see either. I saw move forward, then the defender hit him and sent him back a bit.

Didn't notice the ref.

[bfox1220]

This is good for Seahawk fans. It gives them something to complain about to make it look like there team was cheated. Honestly, I do this all the time too. You focus on a couple of events during the game that were all questionable calls and say "Yea if it wasnt for them bullshit calls we wouldve won...they cheated us...the refs sucks" but in all truth its just a cover-up to the real reasons why your team lost. The drop balls by Stevens, the missed field goals, tyhe horrible clock managment. Its those reasons why they lost not a couple questionable calls and as i said it is easier to bitch and complain then to actually evaluate your team.

[Ki'esha Foxx]

Let me clarify. I do not have a favored team in either the AFC or the NFC. I just tend to go for the underdog team during the Super Bowl because it'd be nice to see the "little guys" win big (especially since the Super Bowl is the only sports program I watch voluntarily). I agree that Seattle did miss a lot of good opportunites and was responsible for several dropped catches. But this doesn't excuse the refs from clearly making bad calls throughout the game. And, as I've said before, I was exargerrating when I said the game was fixed. I said that mainly to get people's attention. Just like on this other website I saw a post that said "There's nothing wrong with terrorism". After angry people replied calling the poster all sorts of names, the poster explained that he named the thread that to catch people's attention. Did a pretty good job too, I might add.

I just wanted to clear those few things up.

[bigred760]

Originally posted by bfox1220
This is good for Seahawk fans. It gives them something to complain about to make it look like there team was cheated. Honestly, I do this all the time too. You focus on a couple of events during the game that were all questionable calls and say "Yea if it wasnt for them bullshit calls we wouldve won...they cheated us...the refs sucks" but in all truth its just a cover-up to the real reasons why your team lost. The drop balls by Stevens, the missed field goals, tyhe horrible clock managment. Its those reasons why they lost not a couple questionable calls and as i said it is easier to bitch and complain then to actually evaluate your team.

I agree, while they can bitch and moan all they want - the fact of the matter is they didn't come up with the big plays like Pittsburgh: that is what I think was the major reason they lost.

And Ki'esha Foxx, never doubted you for a second. :D

[PSU80]

I don't believe this game was a fix at all. And no I'm definitely NOT a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. I agree that some calls were very bad and I admit that some of them were probably bias. However, the run by Willlie Parker and the trick play pass to Hines Ward were clean plays and Seattle just couldn't stop them. They would've lost no matter what.