Referees under fire in Seattle
By Brian Witter
Pacific Northwesterners are slowly coming to terms with the Seahawks' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. Many are crying foul in regards to the officiating, but are the striped men really to blame for "steeling" the game from Seattle?
The offensive pass interference call on Seahawks receiver Darrell Jackson in the first quarter, which contributed to Seattle settling for a field goal, wasn't blatant, but was still flagged. Receivers push off all the time just like he did. Sometimes they're called and sometimes they're not. It turns out that the official who made the call is actually a Pittsburgh native. Conspiracy? Maybe not, but he better keep an eye over his shoulder while walking around in downtown Seattle. Strike one for the zebras.
The replay of Roethlisberger's touchdown, which put Pittsburgh ahead for the remainder of the game, was shown a dozen times and I'm still not sure if he scored. Ben was quoted on Letterman as saying, "I told Coach, I don't think I got in." Was he saying that because he believes it or because he wanted to incite Seattle fans even more? The call probably stood because the replay was inconclusive, but should it have been a touchdown in the first place? We'll never know now. Strike two.
The play that sealed the game for Pittsburgh, Randle El's pass to Hines Ward on a reverse, might never have happened if the officials hadn't blown a blocking call on QB Matt Hasselbeck, who was wrongly penalized 15 yards for a low block when he actually tackled the ball carrier. Strike three.
The league's front office didn't even try to defend that one. Instead, a spokesman said that the game was "properly officiated" and that the game "included, as in most NFL games, some tight plays that produced disagreement about the calls made by the officials." It seems pretty trite to compare Super Bowl XL to "most NFL games." You'd think the officials would think twice before making bonehead calls that 800,000,000 people worldwide see.
I understand that instant replay is relatively new and has changed the way people critically analyze professional football. I also understand that everyone makes mistakes. Loudmouth Jerramy Stevens could also do well to remember that he's playing a game where his job is to catch the ball, but what happened on Sunday should be a footnote to the Steelers' victory.
Perhaps in the future, the NFL might actually acknowledge their own mistakes rather than investigating Mike Holmgren for underlining them.
Contact Brian Witter at (408) 551-1918 or bwitter@scu.edu.