Stealers: How the referees handed Pittsburgh the Super Bowl
David Horsey does Detroit during Super Bowl Week
A media meme emerged late in the long, two-week march to the Super Bowl: Since everyone had basically handed the game to Pittsburgh, Seattle was sure to shock everyone and win. Unfortunately for underdog lovers, no one briefed the refs about this scenario. Remember all that screaming about the Troy Polamalu pick that wasn’t against the Colts a few weeks ago? Well, the Steelers got so much payback last night that I’m sure Steelers fans have found it in their hearts to forgive the men in black and white.
OK, I wasn’t going to complain about the officiating in this past Sunday’s Super Bowl until I saw this, but since I was a Seahawks fan on Sunday (hey, I lived in Portland, OR, for 15 years)…it seemed a bit too obvious to ignore. No, I don’t think that the officials conspired to hand the game to Pittsburgh, but their combined ineptitude had essentially the same effect.
Granted, Seattle, spent most of the game’s last 35 minutes tripping over themselves, but IF Ben Roethlisberger got the ball across the plane of the goal line on Pittsburgh’s first touchdown, it was by the width of a pubic hair. Personally, I don’t believe Roethlisberger scored, but for some reason one of the officials did. It’s sad that the tenor of the game may have been altered by such a ridiculous call such as that, but there you have it.
In the end, Pittsburgh was probably the better team on Sunday. It’s just too bad the officials couldn’t leave well enough alone.
Four critical calls stood out. A rinky-dink offensive pass interference flag wiped out an early touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Darrell Jackson, forcing Seattle to settle for three instead of seven. When Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger lunged for the goal line near the end of the first half, replays indicated a close play but a clear stop by the Seahawks. Nope‚Äö√Ñ√Ætouchdown, Steelers. Then came the pivotal double shot that ended all hope for Seattle. With the Seahawks trailing 14-10, a phantom holding call negated a completion that would have given Seattle first and goal at the one yard line. Three plays later, Hasselbeck was picked off by Ike Taylor, a mistake he partially made up for by tackling the Steelers CB. Sadly for Seattle, tackling now brings a 15-yard penalty-the zebras somehow called Hasselbeck for a “block below the waist.” The last call set up Pittsburgh for the clinching score.
It’s too bad, really, because this Super Bowl really could have been a hell of a game. If the officials had simply allowed the teams to play, who knows what would have happened? It’s difficult to feel as if the best team won when the officials did such a tremendous job of &(^%$#@ things up. And can someone explain to me how a player making a perfectly legal tackle can be penalized 15 yards for “blocking below the waist”? WTF?
