Superbowl XL Update
Posted by Chris Leckness on 02/5/06 in Rants
OK, once again, nothing to do with gadgets. Well we could say the replay system should be used more, that’s technology. Well, this is a gadget blog, right? The Steelers just ran a "gadget" play. Anyhow, here I go with a rant.
8:56 min left in 4th Quarter, right after one hell of a play from Pittsburg, I have finally decided that we should just stop the game now before the officials make it even more obvious. Have you ever seen this many terrible calls in a Superbowl?
This is bad. I will stop typing a get back to the game. Just had to vent a moment.
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Unbelievable how bad the calls were this game, and this year. The NFL has already apologized for bad officiating…how much worse does it have to get before they start to fire these refs who are obvious fans of the Steelers?
Bullshit win.
I agree 100%, I give props to the Steelers for taking what they were given and running with it, but this game is tainted.
The touchtown held back for a bs holding call in the backfield and the Pushoff in the endzone were horrible. These are no calls if it were a Steeler. It was apparent from the touchdown they gave Roethlisberger in the 1st half. I was honestly quite surprised that they overturned the Hasslebeck fumble call.
Well, us complaining isn’t going to fix it, so I guess we should move on. I am sure that the league will be reviewing this and taking action.
I didn’t have a dog in this fight. My team was Denver. I just wanted to see a good game. But what I saw were game changing calls by the officials. These incorrect calls changed the entire momentum of the game. Very sad!
Are U kidding me!!!! This had to be the most disapointing SB I have ever watched…I’m a Jets fan and have seen some terrible games this year but this takes the cake..I tivo’d the game and came up with at least 4 off sides by pit that weren’t called in the 2nd half alone not to mention all the BS calls already mentioned - roth’s QB rating 22.8% what a superstar - this was pathetic..If I was Holmgren I would have blasted the officials during my press conference no matter how much it would have cost me. The NFL has turned into an absolute joke and the commercials sucked too! (although the sprint one where the dude blasts the guy in the locker room with the phone was pretty funny) Well let’s hope the NFL figures it out for next years game.
the officiating is biased - the big money guys in online betting houses and the casinos in Vegas and NewJersey obviously paid for the officials…too bad…the Steelers deserved better too, but the Seahawks really got screwed. If the NFL doesn’t get a handle on this - the fans will go elsewhere…
I agree completely, the crappy calls totally hurt Seattle’s momentum. I was really looking forward to a Seattle win. I guess I should just be happy that they made to the Super Bowl at all.
I’m in the UK and have enjoyed watching the NFL for more years than I care to remember. I’m also not a Seahawks or Steelers fan; I just wanted to see a great game. What I got was the most biased refereeing job I ever saw.
This game convinced me I dont want to watch the NFL anymore. The suppose Seahawks fumble which was over-turned on a challenge was an example of a call that should never have been made in the first place.
Well done to the NFL - you have just lost a fan.
Even the Steelers fans at the Superbowl party I went to today admitted that those calls resulting in the Steelers win were bad calls… Oh well, it’s not like America has much integrity left to lose anyway. Too bad for the NFL. It’s going to take a lot of effort to restore the fan base it once had.
If fairness to the Steelers, the refs almost prevented them from getting to the Superbowl–that overturned Palumalu interception in the playoff against Indy was one of the single worst calls in NFL history (perhaps even dwarfing the Brady “tuck rule” non-fumble).
But the refs more than made it up to them in Superbowl XL. The Steelers fans in the stands were brazen about how the refs were on their side in this one: they were actually waving yellow flags to cheer them on! I have never seen anything like it. In addition to all the blown calls favoring Pittsburgh that every one watching the game saw, did you notice how one time when it looked like Pittsburgh might have fumbled that the Umpire literally jumped into the pile? Did he think he could actually recover the fumble for the Steelers too?
In the end, referee Bill Leavy got screwed too–how can any argue that Hines Ward was more valuable to the Steeler win than he was?
I am so glad to see so many people saw this and that I wasn’t imagining it all. I am not a Seahawks fan exactly, but I wanted to see them win and hoped it didn’t create paranoia in my head that the refs were crooked.
Hi. My name is Chris and I am an Atlanta Falcons fan. Ok, I admitted it, thats the 1st step right?
Anyhow. Send an email to the NFL and let them know we want to throw our red flags and have the game reviewed.
The game was rigged. The Seahawks should have one and the refs should be shot
Are you people done whining and crying yet? Whaaaaa! Ben didn’t get that touchdown! Whaaaa! The refs handed Pittsburgh the game!
All the ball had to do was break the PLANE of that wide white line BEFORE the endzone, which it did.
I can’t STAND people who cry foul just because things didn’t go their way.
Seattle was there because they had the easiest damn season possible. The AFC is a -much- harder division by far.
Don’t think the Steelers deserved the win? Did you happen to catch that last three games they played before the big Bowl? Didn’t think so.
Daniel Schmidt, let me guess a steelers fan…
Not saying that the steelers wouldn’t hae won it but lets examine the stats. The seahawks had 5 times as many penalties called on them. Among those, a blocking below the waist call for the best QB tackle possible…Good Job Hasselback.
Touchdowns overturned because of offensice holding…bull, did he push off,bo he turned and used his hand to shift balance.
how babout the super bowl and NFL realizing that they shouldn’t put a head refin that has only been refereeing for 5 years. Thats likke asking a high schooler to right a PhD dissertation. Ugh, there is so much to go off, the game was dissappointing, there is no way to know who really should have one. Steelers good Job…Seahawks, it figures you got screwed. Did seattle expect a fair game?
1st off, thanks for coming to the site.
2nd, I was cheering for Seattle, yes. Did I can who won or loss, not really. Did I have my $$ on Seattle, If I bet, yes… but I don’t gamble on the performance of those I can not control.
3rd, and most importantly. Did you watch the game? The Roth TD was only 1 of 3 or 4 VITAL calls.
We are not the only ones that saw this.
A poll on Espn.com :
“Do you think officiating mistakes affected the outcome of Super Bowl XL? (103,167 votes)
61.7% Yes
38.2% No
Link if you want it : http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/story?page=thepulse
Now, Pittsburgh had a great run through the playoff, and yes, I saw the majority of all those games as well.
I do think they deserved a fair shot at the title. Do I think they should be Superbowl Champs, yes in the aspect that they did win the game.
Do I respect the win, no. Not at all. Its not Pitt’s fault though.
THis is more than being a sore loser, this is about fair play. Pittsburgh/Seattle - I won’t lose sleep either way. My primary sports following is the University of Alabama and Atlanta Teams.
Oh my goodness! A poll on ESPN! Well now, that just settles it then doesn’t it? You are so right! The game was rigged! Lynch the refs!
The only ones really caring about and voting in such a poll are bitter about a deserved loss.
Seattle was out played. Get rid of all the points you are all whining about and they still would have lost. They were doing well in the first half, but the Steelers took control in the second. Seattle had their chances, and they blew it.
Stop looking for excuses, and just deal with the fact that Seattle did not play their best, and albeit sloppily, the Steelers played better. Instead of scrambling to point fingers and accuse, how about being thankful that you had a good season, got to the SUPERBOWL, and look forward to next year?
Look foward to next year?
Ugh, sorry friend, my team was miserable. The Falcons didn’t even make the playoffs. You are confusing me with someone that is really hurt that Seattle did not win. I wanted them to win for the sake of Shaun Alexander, but not gonna sell the house and move into the jungle over it.
Lets do some point adjustments then:
Pitt 21 Seattle 10
–
+14 for Seattle on 2 TDs that should have been. 1st one the “pushoff”. 2nd Being the one that landed Seattle on the 1. No, they didnt score, but you give Shaun 4 shots on the 1, he’s getting in.
Ok, so now we are Pitt 21 Seattle 24
We could go farther and take 7 from Pitt, but that would not make it any different.
If you are looking for congrats on your team winning a fair fight from me, not gonna happen. Keep an eye on the news though, I am sure you will see some lash back from this in the media over the next few weeks.
I will take your advise and stop whining. This is my last post on this subject.
I’m not a fan of either team although I do like Bettis and appreciated the manner in which he ended his wonderful career. That being said, Seattle got hosed in a big big way. The Jackson TD was exactly that a TD. Period. The Rothlisberger TD was not a TD, BUT it was ruled a TD (judgement call) and there wasn’t enough “conclusive evidence” to overturn it, so I think it is legitimate. Seattle did shoot itself in the foot a couple of times, most noticably the way they handled the last few minutes of the game, but the refs were calling total BS on Seattle (epitome of which had to be that tackle call on Hasselbeck) and when the ref had to come back and announce the overturning of the Haselbeck fumble (the hand on his right side thing) you could ALMOST see a look of disappointment on the face of the ref. You could most definitely notice it in his voice. I’m worried that over the past 5 or so years, that the victor of the superbowl is semi-predetermined, the team that is more popular across the country seems to get the calls over the last few years’ Superbowls. This year the Seahawks definitely got bent-over.
Allright, i’ll start by saying i live in Seattle.
Yeah, were pissed. We really are.
Now, the game. We were sloppy in a few key plays. We had the refs call us on a few key plays. We never really got much momentum going, but how could we?! The refs made it impossible. About the Roethlisberger TD. I know the rule. However, the ball was tucked under his bady, IT WAS NOT OVER THE LINE. There is no dispute, that was not a TD. Continuing on, take away the key plays and ref calls and look at the game. Then you see that the hawks were playin a much better game. They moved the ball faster and their defense was much more solid.
Anyway, next year will be a big year for the hawks. I am sure most if not all the team will be convinced to stay because they know that given another year, they could easily win it all. Many key people have already said that they want to stay. We unless we lose a whole slew of ppl, were goin to superbowl XLI. Miami will have better refs.
Hi I live in PA and because of this I initially was rooting for Pittsburgh but also have like Seattle all year— I was so disappointed in the way Seattle was ripped off in this game that I told my family I don’t even want to watch the Superbowl next year. I feel terrible for Seattle and I think Pittsburgh has a tainted championship. Thanks for this site.
Hi I live in PA and because of this I initially was rooting for Pittsburgh but also have like Seattle all year— I was so disappointed in the way Seattle was ripped off in this game that I told my family I don’t even want to watch the Superbowl next year. I feel terrible for Seattle and I think Pittsburgh has a tainted championship. Thanks for this site.
Daniel Schmidt, By your posting, you have made yourself almost as popular as the refs in the big game. To address a few of your comments, the Whaaa! comments are entirely uneccessary. If you pay close attention to the postings, you will note that few of the commentors are Seattle fans. Most are just disappointed in the apparent corruption in the officiating staff within the NFL and are quite disappointed that a sport most of us have been passionate about since childhood is now a spectacle much like wrestling. This applies not only to the officials, but to many players as well with thier showboating.
But back to the issues at hand. Perhaps you were getting a snack or a beer when the rest of the country watched the replay of Ben’s touchdown (NOT), but it clearly demonstrated (as most above agree) that the ball DID NOT CROSS THE PLANE.
The AFC is a much tougher division? I think not! If this were the case, why have 21 of the 40 superbowl titles been taken by NFC teams. More applicable to todays NFL, 8 of the last 15 have been taken by the NFC. Further, 2 of the 3 “Dynasties” of the NFL are NFC teams, and but for the BS win for the Steelers yesterday, the AFC would not have a team with this elite status!
In my humble opinion, it should have been an OT game. Here is why; take the free TD from Ben and that gives the Steelers 14. But lets assume they would have booted a field goal the next play and give them 17. Give the TD back to Seattle on the ridiculous interference call and Seattle has 17. We have an OT situation…The way the superbowl should end.
Hello. First off, if you people were paying attention at all, you would know that my posts were NOT made by Daniel Schmidt. Stay with me people.
Secondly . . the refs lost the game for Seattle? Please. I’ll give you back Ben’s touchdown (which was legit, please look into the rules. The ball crossed the WHITE PLANE.) Guess what? We STILL won.
Seattle . . you guys had an easy season. You guys don’t play the teams that we play. However, build on it. Enjoy what Pittsburgh has has for MANY years. Even if the Steelers do bad, we’re supporting them. You all are babies compared to us.
Oh, whaaaaa, I won’t watch the Superbowl next year!!! Guess what? Who needs you. Go away. Football is football. Recognize the good, the bad and the ugly, and love the sport. Bhu bye.
Want to talk about a ‘fixed’ game? Why do it in Pittsburgh’s favour? Hmm? We LOVE our team, good season or bad. We still watch and go to the games, and buy the merchandise. Why not . . if you were going to fix it, do it in Seattle’s favour? Hmm? Many new sales there, as opposed to Pittsburgh, the city of the football history.
Get over yourselves.
Cry, whine, call foul - give you those 7 points back and guess what? You. Still. Lost.
Stop crying in your friggin’ coffee and think on next year. Stop pointing the finger, and start raising it in the air.
As a Fan of the game and with my team not playing I watched the game as I always do. Some points I have…..
1. Since when is holding/hooking a pass rusher to give your QB time to throw NOT a holding penalty. Even if it is caught at the one yard line. There were many other holds by the Seatle offensive line never even called.
2. Pushing off on a pass defender whether it’s a small or a big push IS a penalty “per the rules” same as the way it benefitted Seattle in the call made in my next item 3.
3. The fumble by Seattle’s QB was correctly reversed “per the rules” even though the minor contact made by the Steeler player had nothing to do with him going down. He was already falling down.
4. Pittsburgh’s QB crossed the plane of the goal line when he was in midair about two feet above the ground then was hit and landed on the ground short of the goal line but the vertical plane was already broken by then. At least too close to be indisputable enough to reverse the call.
5. Seattle’s QB did get a bad call on the tackle after he threw the interception but by then the damage was done so the only thing to argue was the 15 yards.
Both teams seemed VERY uptight during the game. The Steelers in the first half & the Seahawks in the second half.
I understand the Seahawks frustration from losing because if they had not DROPPED so many passes and had stopped the two BIG plays for touchdowns by the Steelers they would have won, but don’t blame the ref’s when you can only see things from your perspective. Look at my 5 items honestly and if you were not so dissapointed you could see the ref’s were not that bad. They followed the “rules” but it just cost the Seahawks more because it happened on some of their most productive plays. But a penalty is a penalty whether it happens on a 1 yard gain or a 100 yard gain.
What was that? StupidBowl? or just stupid officials? So sad. I don’t mind losing when you should but come on-why it the world did the ref jump on the pile when it looked like the ball was fumbled? If you ask me - these decisions were bigger than anything the Seahawks could have done. We were so confused - it totally undid us.
I would argue that Ben FUMBLED the ball on the play at the goal line. He clearly had the ball at the hand/wrist area and when he extended while falling the ball came loose under his chest/belly area where he clutched and moved the ball forward. This should have been seen by the replay officials. Why is it that the college systems is much more refined and reliable,yet they have been doing replay only a couple of years? This game just capped off the worst officiating playoff season in hisory. Do not look for the NFL to say word one about the officiating. That would be admitting they have a problem. For the record, I am neither a fan or a hater of either team. Both sides have admirable ownership, coaching staffs and future hall of fame players. For all the players that busted their rear ends all year and for all the fans watching the most important game of the year, who poured there paychecks into the NFL treasury every stinking Sunday, you’d think we could get some decent officiating. The NFL should hang its head in shame! It was a complete farce! I for one will not watch the next Superbowl. I’ll be on the golfcourse. F the NFL and their pig-headedness.
I didn’t catch the name of this years MVP….. was it Bill Leavy?
I guess that covers it.
The NFL should be ashamed of having such poor, pathetic refereeing for the biggest game of the season. The Seahawks played their heart out, and came out just as strong as they did against Carolina in the NFC Championship, but the officials took away what momentum they had. Also, look at Ben’s TD, he had the ball tucked under his stomach, not the top of his helmet, which itself barely crossed the plane. And how do you get called for a blocking foul when you are Hasselbeck tackling the runner? The NFL needs to reform it’s referee system, as the Seahawks weren’t the only victims of poor officiating. Just ask the Steelers about their game against the Indianopolis, where a interception was taken away by officials bent on making calls for the favored team. Check yourself, officials, and let the players play.
“Just ask the Steelers about their game against the Indianopolis, where a interception was taken away by officials bent on making calls for the favored team.”
You are SO right! And what happened? We tucked that away and came back.
What did Seattle do?
Okay the Super Bowl has been over for 3 days and you guys are still here bitching about bad calls. Come on you know damn well that if the calls were made on the Steelers that the fans would be angered to. But it does not matter about the fans all it matters is what the refs called. They make the calls not the fans.
Okay i just wanted to let everyone know that just because i paid 20 thousand dollars to see my boy jerome achieve his dream doesnt mean anything.
“LOL”
Take the points away we are all whining about? ok. Seattle gets the extra 7 for the TD, that makes i 17-21. Take away the no TD by Pitts, that is 17-14. A good game as it should have been. Except for the 5 drives that will KILLED literally by bad calls. Then the blatant lack of holding calls on Pitts in the second half the kept their weak drives alive. The refs did a good mental game on Seattle. I would not want to get near anyone in black/gold unless my gloves were velcroed together. I am actually a fan of both teams (from the days before we had seahawks). I am very disapointed.
Some people really need to learn about logical falicies before they spew their pathetic arguments.
“Oh my goodness! A poll on ESPN! Well now, that just settles it then doesn’t it?”
Nope, and your premise is incorrect - the person who posted the poll didn’t say that “that settles it”. A poll is just a poll. Except in this case 100,000 people participated.
Numbers are just numbers, but people who ignore facts are just being stupid for no reason. They will complain that the numbers are rigged…. blah blah blah…. such as…
“The only ones really caring about and voting in such a poll are bitter about a deserved loss.”
Do you have any actual evidence for this statement? Were YOU the one who created the poll? What’s this? You weren’t? Oh gee, imagine that. You must have the most amazing insight into a poll you didn’t create. I get it now - you’re psychic. That’s it.
God sakes man. Don’t just make up stuff out of thin air - you sure as hell don’t gain a lot of crediblity that way.
HOLLY MACKERAL - SO the NFL has become - just like the pro - wrestling side show migets - ouch - I will never watch a “pro” football game again - what a total waste of time - this is from a long suffering jets fan who really doesn’t care who won - I just looked foward to a good football game - I am well practised in the art of disapointment - green junior varsity refs could have done a better job. JL
Hey all. I said I was done with this debate, and I am. The guy everyone is talking to here seems like a troll and I try not to give them more than a comeback or two.
That’s not the reason for this comment. This comment is to sincerely thank everyone who has posted here. I am amazed that this post has been so popular around the net. In case you haven’t looked around a little after reading, this is a site about Mobility. We report, review, and discuss mobile technology and gadgets. Cell phones, PDAs, Etc… So for all of you that are not regulars here, thanks for stopping by!
That’s it… walks off flipping the bird to the NFL…..
Kudos for the win in PA. Kudos for the even greater restraint offered by the staff in Seattle. If I were Mr. Holmgren I would have been furious at the showboating dive into the end zone by Parker. As this was penalized against teams in the regular season, what happened to the penalty in the post season. I was unaware that the rules for this type of behavior was different for regular vs. post seasons. This in itself should have been the tell tale sign that the refs are baboons.
Whomever agrees the game was bias and would like to make a statement please join the petition below.
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/nfl12006/
This is in response to Pittsburgher. Yeah, the Steelers had one tough call against the Colts. Big deal. The Seahawks would have shook off one bad call as well. But the Seahawks had more than just one call, they had at least 3 or 4 just plain awful calls against them. The Seahawks played great, got the longest interception return in SuperBowl history, had more yardage, first downs, and time of possession than the Steelers. The Steelers didn’t even get a first down until 19 minutes in. I’m not saying the Seahawks would have won for sure without the calls, but it’s likely. What I am saying is the NFL officiating system is broken, and time and time again the referees slant the calls towards the favored team. Having full-time refs would be a start, as the rest of the major sports leagues(MLB, NBA) have. And having officials in a booth checking close calls and challenges, instead of the head referee on the field who is biased towards their own calls.
NFL games are fixed? Please, it’s not limited to Football. The Superbowl is the most heavily bet game in all of sports. Billions wagered on this one day!! There is ‘holding’ on every play….the officials can call it, or not. Football is the easiest game to fix. Our Congressmen take pribes,lobbists, judges….ever heard about ‘point shaving’ in college basketball?This is the American way. Money will by anything, ya even your own brother would kill you if the price was right.
“In case you haven’t looked around a little after reading, this is a site about Mobility. We report, review, and discuss mobile technology and gadgets. Cell phones, PDAs, Etc..”
Well shucks, sorry to interrupt. I’ll let you all get back to the sheer excitement of all that.
OK, thanks. Have a good day, we’ve enjoyed your trolling.
Two weeks in the making this game was a joke. First of all, in reading any press outside of the greater seattle area, you wouldn’t have even known the seahawks (who made their first superbowl apperance EVER) were even playing in the game. Second, the officiating, as you’ve all stated, was bunk. i think the NFL should issue an official apology to mike holmgren and his team that dominated the game (the stats say it all my friends). Props to the hawks who’ve shown good taste in post-game conferencing.
I’m tired of hearing Pitt fans excuse of “Look what happened at Indy and we overcame it” - that was one call, and if Indy cornerback didnt hyper extend his left knee in the 1st quarter, and get stabbed in his right leg the night before, he jukes Ben, Indy wins, and your the one’s complaining.. Seattle was attacked w/ multiple bad calls - not just BS penalty’s, but penaltys that took away practically every good thing that happened (Convienently) - The NFL saw
what the public wanted, what had the most storyline’s to play out, what would sell the most merchandise, and they made it happen. I used to like Pitt, but after their fans cant admit they got a gift,
not their fault - take it and walk away quietly, but admit it.. I’m sure the steelers no sooner wanted to win that way as the seahawks wanted to lose that way.
Say what you want fellas. It was a bad called game. Go cowboys!!!
Yes a Seahawk fan 1st and formost, but I have to respect the way Pittsburgh battled their way to the superbowl..but truely what a shame that everyone couldnt have enjoyed a truely even playing field ,yes seattle was robbed , but who will ever know how pittsbugh would have responed it could have been one of the all time great games but now we all have to live with a taited pitts win and a long off season for the seahawks As far as I am concerned anyone who watched the game has no doubt who the better team really is. things could be worse though we could have to endure the offseason living in pittsbugh…..
This is the craziest thread I’ve seen for a while. Pittsburgh was clearly the better team and deserved to win. I think the cumulative score in the last 2 games was 42-10?
I lived in Seattle for 10 years; Seattle seems to cry a lot: Huskies robbed by Penn State in the Aloha Bowl; Sonics were ‘jobbed twice’ against the Suns, Mariners got ‘hosed’ against the Yankees, Huskies ‘robbed’ against UConn in NCAA BB, and the latest…we deserved to win and were robbed against BYU.