Hi, I'm an NFL Ref.

[Jack'd in]

Every single questionable, marginal or outright bad call went against the Seahawks.

the refs SUCK ,they had more to do with the Steelers win than the Steelers did period!

this will go down as the worst officiated Super Bowl to date...

[jdubs]

best part of the game was the halftime show.

[sandstorm]

This thread sucks

[ihategnomes]

The best part of the Superbowl was the revolving refridgerator commerical.

[a500lbgorilla]

A. Pittsburgh was favored - how the fuck does the #6 seed get favored against the #1 seed?

?

Becuase Vegas felt that if the set the line at Pit -4, the betting would be 50/50 for pit and sea. Had it been Sea -3, you know a lot of people would be taking pit and the points.

[PO$$E$$ED]

The Seahawks got robbed hardcore. Bottom line is they would have won the game if it wasn't for the officials. I can't believe people are arguing otherwise- did you watch the fucking game? The officials practically won the game for the Stealers. Watching this year's Super Bowl reminded me of why I never watch football in the first place. Such an ugly game.
Props to Rothburger for that one-yard "touchdown"- he's already down, clearly short of the goal line, there's a linesman running right at him and he still has the nerve to creep the football forward a foot or so to get it into the endzone. Well played Rothburger, well played, he's a true Stealer alright.
Then there was that Seahawks touchdown in the first quarter that somehow got negated because the official didn't like the fact that Darrell Jackson had arms. Wow, just wow.

[a500lbgorilla]

The Seahawk TD was a penalty, by rule. The grey area is that some refs won't call it.

[gabe]

seahawks should have played better

[lambchopdc]

The Seahawk TD was a penalty, by rule. The grey area is that some refs won't call it.

Rilla, i think u'll admit that by some you mean about 95% and especially in a Super Bowl where the game should be won by players not officials. BTW, I am glad to see you are at least admitting some of the problems with how this game went down. Most Steelers fans will deny it to their deathbed.

[a500lbgorilla]

The Seahawk TD was a penalty, by rule. The grey area is that some refs won't call it.

Rilla, i think u'll admit that by some you mean about 95% and especially in a Super Bowl where the game should be won by players not officials. BTW, I am glad to see you are at least admitting some of the problems with how this game went down. Most Steelers fans will deny it to their deathbed.

From my VT roots. You learn not to bitch and moan and to give credit and assign blame where blame and credit is due.

[gabe]

nfl is rigged petition!
http://new.petitiononline.com/nfl12006/petition.html

[lambchopdc]

<ilikeaces86> lets face it, the NFL is owned by party poker

[PO$$E$$ED]

nfl is rigged petition!
http://new.petitiononline.com/nfl12006/petition.html

I signed it. #4366

The 15 yard penalty on Hasselback was a terrible call.

The pushing called on Jackson was harsh, but was a correct call (and excellent refereeing in my opinion). The rules of the NFL state that all that is looked for in a pushing foul is the extension of the arm AWAY from the body and contact with an opposing player, and that is exactly what happened. Very harsh and controversial decision (maybe the 'by the book' ruling needs to be changed in the way of common sense), but the right one.

(By the way, I support neither the Seahawks or the Steelers, nor any NFL team, I just enjoy watching it).

[lambchopdc]

The 15 yard penalty on Hasselback was a terrible call.

The pushing called on Jackson was harsh, but was a correct call (and excellent refereeing in my opinion). The rules of the NFL state that all that is looked for in a pushing foul is the extension of the arm AWAY from the body and contact with an opposing player, and that is exactly what happened. Very harsh and controversial decision (maybe the 'by the book' ruling needs to be changed in the way of common sense), but the right one.

(By the way, I support neither the Seahawks or the Steelers, nor any NFL team, I just enjoy watching it).

stick to soccer u eurotrash midget

[a500lbgorilla]

Well, it's offical. Winning the Superbowl sucks ass. Since Superbowl 30, I've been a Steeler fan. Since about 7 years ago, I've been a huge Steeler fan. We've been pretty competative over that span, drafting well, playing well during the regular season, enjoying a big fan base and a great team of personalities. We seem to be in the AFC championship game every year and we always played soft in the biggest games. But this year was different. Big players made big plays in big games and it was a blast. All those loses where we'd say to ourselves "These will make the big win that much greater" were fading from memory. We came up huge in the Colts game (the biggest win of my Steelers-fandom-life), dominated the Broncos and were on the cusp of completing the greatest post season run in history.

Then came the big game and we looked horrible. Choking is the appropriate word. Recievers weren't holding onto the ball, Roethlisberger wasn't getting it done (some passes looking bad, but nothing horrible. His second INT was disgusting. I saw the route and the easy TD and he makes the worst toss of his career.) Our running game was it's usual stagnant self (atleast, this years usual stagnant self). Willie Parker can not break a tackle. He will run 1 yrd, 0 yrds, 1 yrd, 1 yrd, 0 yrds, -1 yrds, 1 yrds then bust a huge run and we forget about all those 3rd and longs he puts us in. Our game plan was ugly. Wisenhut fell off the horse that brung him. We play well with a lead and we are not going to get a lead on the Seattle defense on the ground unless we get lucky to bust out a HUGE run. We did not stretch the field or utilize Heath Miller (a.k.a Big Ben's confidence) at all. Our defense played very well. Hasselbeck was getting the ball out quick and nickle and diming us but it was still looking good. The Seahawks brilliantly attacked our weakest link, Ike Taylor (Who on two different deep passes looked like a dufus simply falling backwards while trying to play the ball). After the first quarter, I knew we would lose that game. Becuase I have seen us lose big games and they all start out the same. It's not a heartbreaking last minute drive, it's a slow start out the gate and trying to play from behind. This game was lost but I was doing my best to just enjoy the big plays by Big Ben and enjoy how well our defense played without any stand-out players (for that game, atleast) and the commericals. I just wanted to enjoy the football game but I couldn't.

The refs were taking what could have been a good football game and turning it into a travesty. Towards the end of the game, when it was apparent we would win, I was disgusted becuase though I wanted to win no one wants to win like this.

We would win but it would forever have a small astrix by it in the minds of football fans. *The Steelers 12th man wore black and white stripes. Before the game, if told about this game, I'd say "We won? That's all I care about." But it was not fun winning. Winning a game in this style is the same as becoming a Steeler fan in the 90s and being told that we had won 4 in the 70s. "Alright, cool." After the Colts game, me and my buddies were jumping up and down, spilling beer, cheering and hugging saying "CRY PEYTON! CRY!!!!" "OH SHIT HAHAAHAHHAHAHA!" but after this game, not a drop of beer was spilt, we simply stood up and gave each other some light highfives "We did it. Alright. We're champs." Sat back down, watched the post game and simply went home.

The stage was set for an awesome story and a season for people to talk about the successes, trials and accomplishments of my team and its players. But with the Superbowl, that was compeltely ruined. This season, we went from a sports trivia question (assuming we would lost the AFC championship game) to the greatest postseason run ever to a team that has the lowest rated passer ever to win in a Superbowl. A Superbowl where everyone sat there and thought "So, who the hell is the MVP? Can they give it to Casey Hampton (nose tackle, run stopper. Who forced the Seahawks to run it outside on every attempt)?" Ward has been my personal favorite player for years. But two crucial dropped balled stick out more in my mind then the 4 gimme catches and 1 great catch he had.

This season is like a great book with an ending that does not measure up. I feel cheated. Seahawks fans feel cheated. NFL fans feel cheated. What an absolutely shitty football game.

[DaNutsInYoEye]

Props to Rothburger for that one-yard "touchdown"- he's already down, clearly short of the goal line, there's a linesman running right at him and he still has the nerve to creep the football forward a foot or so to get it into the endzone. Well played Rothburger, well played, he's a true Stealer alright.

LoL... You're right. Absolutely no other player in the NFL extends the ball forward after they're already down. Ben Roethlisberger is obviously the dirtiest player in the game. Gimme a fucking break.

The game was ugly, no doubt about it. How quickly you all seem to be forgetting the horrible over turning of the interception call in the Pitt/Indy game though. If that call is correctly upheld the game is basically over. It wasn't though and Indy had a chance to get back in it. The Steelers played liked the champions they are and overcame it though. Seattle did not.

I think we can all agree that the officiating sucked. Is that the Steeler's fault though? It sucks that the officiating is detracting from their win. They're a great team. They had to win out the last 4 games of the season just to make the playoffs. They then consecutively beat the best teams in the NFL on the road. Give credit where credit is due and quit being a bunch of whiny bitches.

The best teams find ways to win regardless of the conditions. The game was ugly. So what? Does it have to be a high scoring, highlight filled, back-and-forth marathon for it to be a good game? If you look back at the best teams in history, regardless of the sport, you see that the best teams find ways to win the ugly games.

You can pick apart any aspect of the game you want. Neither team played particularly well. The bottom line though is that Pittsburgh found a way to win.

[gabe]

btw, seattle would not have gotten nearly this far without the refs help. its like a fish who runs up a huge BR getting lucky and then wont stop bitching when he gets sucked out on for the first time.

[WildBobAA]

btw, seattle would not have gotten nearly this far without the refs help. its like a fish who runs up a huge BR getting lucky and then wont stop bitching when he gets sucked out on for the first time.

Explain

[gabe]

no! seattle sucks, redskins rule!

ps detroit is cool too

[WildBobAA]

Oh I guess you're just sore about the Skins game huh? That's understandable.

The Lions are probably the saddest franchise in sports. Watching them suck every week makes me cry.

[gabe]

Oh I guess you're just sore about the Skins game huh? That's understandable.

actually i started thinking abuot it...and all the bad calls even out in the long run right??

ps i just got your voice mail, if i could figure out how to post it on ftr i would

[WildBobAA]

Wow I called you? What did I say?

[Fnord]

The Steelers played liked the champions they are and overcame it though. Seattle did not.

Re: the Indy game; By "overcame it" do you mean nearly giving the game away with a goal line fumble, then using phychic powers to get the league's historically most accurate field goal kicker to miss?

The best teams find ways to win regardless of the conditions.

Any sports gambler knows better. Suck-outs happen. This logic only holds if you think if we ran it again the Stealers would win 90%ish of the time. My guess is it's more like ~40%ish of the time. A poker player should know better...

"On any given Sunday" is a MUCH MUCH MUCH better adage.

The Seahawks played a pretty good game, just nearly every break went against them (not just officiating), which probably added fustration to the mix. They lost this one to a team that didn't play as well and caught some big breaks. It happens.

[PO$$E$$ED]

Props to Rothburger for that one-yard "touchdown"- he's already down, clearly short of the goal line, there's a linesman running right at him and he still has the nerve to creep the football forward a foot or so to get it into the endzone. Well played Rothburger, well played, he's a true Stealer alright.

LoL... You're right. Absolutely no other player in the NFL extends the ball forward after they're already down. Ben Roethlisberger is obviously the dirtiest player in the game. Gimme a fucking break.

bandwagon fallacy/hasty generalization

[Fnord]

I'm a Seahawks fan and I don't think the game was rigged. We've all seen some idiot catch a rush of cards, making it perfectly clear the how big of a pain luck can be even when you have a pretty good edge.

For the first half, Seattle kept giving themselves chances to get up big and fell short to calls and really close plays. On the flip side the Steelers had a string of 3 and outs followed by one big play (that held) followed by a really close goaline call for likely 4pts that probably gets called short more often than not. 7-3 Steelers end first half. In the second half I never really saw the Steelers put much together until the final drive. But wait, then there is that funky time-out call with 0 second left! Throw in a couple gimmick, low % plays that worked.... bleh....

Like I said, it was a good match-up, both teams had a good shot of winning. It was contested until the end. Given what I saw I would put my money on Seattle again every time.

[DoGGz]

I'm a Seahawks fan and I don't think the game was rigged. We've all seen some idiot catch a rush of cards, making it perfectly clear the how big of a pain luck can be even when you have a pretty good edge.

For the first half, Seattle kept giving themselves chances to get up big and fell short to calls and really close plays. On the flip side the Steelers had a string of 3 and outs followed by one big play (that held) followed by a really close goaline call for likely 4pts that probably gets called short more often than not. 7-3 Steelers end first half. In the second half I never really saw the Steelers put much together until the final drive. But wait, then there is that funky time-out call with 0 second left! Throw in a couple gimmick, low % plays that worked.... bleh....

Like I said, it was a good match-up, both teams had a good shot of winning. It was contested until the end. Given what I saw I would put my money on Seattle again every time.

I'm never going to bet against a team that the NFL wants to win, ever again.

[ihategnomes]

robably gets called short more often than not

The only reason it even looked close on TV is that the camera is not on the goal line, its farther back in the end zone, so the angle seemed off a bit. After a slow motion instant replay it was obvious the ball broke the plane of the goal line.

[ProZachNation]

no! seattle sucks, redskins rule!

ps detroit is cool too

Detroit is cool, I was worried about random shootings/fires destroying D Towns rep even more but I think since everything went well Detroits image actualy is better now.

[Muxy]

robably gets called short more often than not

The only reason it even looked close on TV is that the camera is not on the goal line, its farther back in the end zone, so the angle seemed off a bit. After a slow motion instant replay it was obvious the ball broke the plane of the goal line.

Hijack.

Randy Couture.

GG Sir.

(he has some major ass colliflour ears its nasty as fuck)

[a500lbgorilla]

The one Seahawks buddy I have

"I re-watched the game tonight and when you take all of the emotions out of it there were many bad calls against both teams. There was a pass ruled incomplete that should have been a fumble. It happened right in front of the ref. There's no excuse for that.

Having said that, both teams performances were not as bad as everyone has said. Big Ben did not play as bad as his rating suggests or as so many people are suggesting. WR's on both teams dropped SEVERAL passes, etc. Big Ben's rating, and the score by the way, would have been quite different had Pitt's WRs actually caught several passes including some in the end zone.

But we all know that many of the little people and almost all of the media will make both teams pay for every little mistake made. Ben will be persecuted until probably the middle of next season. He might not have had the best day in the air - but his scrambling, flat out rushing, and several big play passes that got Pitt out of trouble were top notch."

[DoGGz]

The one Seahawks buddy I have

"I re-watched the game tonight and when you take all of the emotions out of it there were many bad calls against both teams. There was a pass ruled incomplete that should have been a fumble. It happened right in front of the ref. There's no excuse for that.

He's right, and the ball went out of bounds, so the hawks would have gotten the ball 40 more yards down the field. Shitty call, and it would have helped the hawks a ton.

[ensign_lee]

The one Seahawks buddy I have

"I re-watched the game tonight and when you take all of the emotions out of it there were many bad calls against both teams. There was a pass ruled incomplete that should have been a fumble. It happened right in front of the ref. There's no excuse for that.

He's right, and the ball went out of bounds, so the hawks would have gotten the ball 40 more yards down the field. Shitty call, and it would have helped the hawks a ton.

Pretty sure the ball stayed in bounds on that fumble and Pitt would have easily had the ball.

[DoGGz]

The one Seahawks buddy I have

"I re-watched the game tonight and when you take all of the emotions out of it there were many bad calls against both teams. There was a pass ruled incomplete that should have been a fumble. It happened right in front of the ref. There's no excuse for that.

He's right, and the ball went out of bounds, so the hawks would have gotten the ball 40 more yards down the field. Shitty call, and it would have helped the hawks a ton.

Pretty sure the ball stayed in bounds on that fumble and Pitt would have easily had the ball.

Watch it again, it definately goes out of bounds.

[Demiparadigm]

WAaAaAaAaaaaaa...

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=42

[journey075]

dmeiparadimgm is my favorite fuckking poster. also doggz <3 pensi.

[xBULLETTSx]

The ref who did the game only had 5 years experience in the NFL.......I would have figured them to get someone a bit more seasoned??? especially for the biggest football event in the world??? but that makes the cover up a bit easier to swallow......

[a500lbgorilla]

The one Seahawks buddy I have

"I re-watched the game tonight and when you take all of the emotions out of it there were many bad calls against both teams. There was a pass ruled incomplete that should have been a fumble. It happened right in front of the ref. There's no excuse for that.

He's right, and the ball went out of bounds, so the hawks would have gotten the ball 40 more yards down the field. Shitty call, and it would have helped the hawks a ton.

Pretty sure the ball stayed in bounds on that fumble and Pitt would have easily had the ball.

Watch it again, it definately goes out of bounds.

You can see the pit players stop chasing it though, it would be close between whoes possession it was.

[a500lbgorilla]

The ref who did the game only had 5 years experience in the NFL.......I would have figured them to get someone a bit more seasoned??? especially for the biggest football event in the world??? but that makes the cover up a bit easier to swallow......

I'm also tired of everyone shitting on Steeler fans day in the sun. Give respect where respect is due. It was a huge feat getting there and when it all came down to it, they made the big plays and have the D that could handle an offense that was 3&out more than it was driving and Seattle could not overcome the lucky breaks going against them. (Breaks that this Steeler team overcame vrs Indy with similarly bad calls always going against Pitt)

[Sykedupp]

Randomly posting how the steelers sucked is just going to make more animocity around, we dont need fucking fights sprouting from a football game that NONE of us had ANYTHING to do with, aside from watching the game and maybe losing a little money (I had $10 bets on either team winning by +40... shit, 1200 to 1 odds or something, why not?)


Friendships should not be broken and regular aquaintances should not become enemies over something this stupid.


PS I am a football fan but for no teams in particular.

Game sucked, refs sucked, teams sucked, rolling stones sucked, rilla NAILED it on the head with his post, this topic should be locked so nobody can go hating on anyone anymore.

Well, it's offical. Winning the Superbowl sucks ass. Since Superbowl 30, I've been a Steeler fan. Since about 7 years ago, I've been a huge Steeler fan. We've been pretty competative over that span, drafting well, playing well during the regular season, enjoying a big fan base and a great team of personalities. We seem to be in the AFC championship game every year and we always played soft in the biggest games. But this year was different. Big players made big plays in big games and it was a blast. All those loses where we'd say to ourselves "These will make the big win that much greater" were fading from memory. We came up huge in the Colts game (the biggest win of my Steelers-fandom-life), dominated the Broncos and were on the cusp of completing the greatest post season run in history.

Then came the big game and we looked horrible. Choking is the appropriate word. Recievers weren't holding onto the ball, Roethlisberger wasn't getting it done (some passes looking bad, but nothing horrible. His second INT was disgusting. I saw the route and the easy TD and he makes the worst toss of his career.) Our running game was it's usual stagnant self (atleast, this years usual stagnant self). Willie Parker can not break a tackle. He will run 1 yrd, 0 yrds, 1 yrd, 1 yrd, 0 yrds, -1 yrds, 1 yrds then bust a huge run and we forget about all those 3rd and longs he puts us in. Our game plan was ugly. Wisenhut fell off the horse that brung him. We play well with a lead and we are not going to get a lead on the Seattle defense on the ground unless we get lucky to bust out a HUGE run. We did not stretch the field or utilize Heath Miller (a.k.a Big Ben's confidence) at all. Our defense played very well. Hasselbeck was getting the ball out quick and nickle and diming us but it was still looking good. The Seahawks brilliantly attacked our weakest link, Ike Taylor (Who on two different deep passes looked like a dufus simply falling backwards while trying to play the ball). After the first quarter, I knew we would lose that game. Becuase I have seen us lose big games and they all start out the same. It's not a heartbreaking last minute drive, it's a slow start out the gate and trying to play from behind. This game was lost but I was doing my best to just enjoy the big plays by Big Ben and enjoy how well our defense played without any stand-out players (for that game, atleast) and the commericals. I just wanted to enjoy the football game but I couldn't.

The refs were taking what could have been a good football game and turning it into a travesty. Towards the end of the game, when it was apparent we would win, I was disgusted becuase though I wanted to win no one wants to win like this.

We would win but it would forever have a small astrix by it in the minds of football fans. *The Steelers 12th man wore black and white stripes. Before the game, if told about this game, I'd say "We won? That's all I care about." But it was not fun winning. Winning a game in this style is the same as becoming a Steeler fan in the 90s and being told that we had won 4 in the 70s. "Alright, cool." After the Colts game, me and my buddies were jumping up and down, spilling beer, cheering and hugging saying "CRY PEYTON! CRY!!!!" "OH SHIT HAHAAHAHHAHAHA!" but after this game, not a drop of beer was spilt, we simply stood up and gave each other some light highfives "We did it. Alright. We're champs." Sat back down, watched the post game and simply went home.

The stage was set for an awesome story and a season for people to talk about the successes, trials and accomplishments of my team and its players. But with the Superbowl, that was compeltely ruined. This season, we went from a sports trivia question (assuming we would lost the AFC championship game) to the greatest postseason run ever to a team that has the lowest rated passer ever to win in a Superbowl. A Superbowl where everyone sat there and thought "So, who the hell is the MVP? Can they give it to Casey Hampton (nose tackle, run stopper. Who forced the Seahawks to run it outside on every attempt)?" Ward has been my personal favorite player for years. But two crucial dropped balled stick out more in my mind then the 4 gimme catches and 1 great catch he had.

This season is like a great book with an ending that does not measure up. I feel cheated. Seahawks fans feel cheated. NFL fans feel cheated. What an absolutely shitty football game.

Great post sir, lock this thread please.


-Chris

[DoGGz]

The one Seahawks buddy I have

"I re-watched the game tonight and when you take all of the emotions out of it there were many bad calls against both teams. There was a pass ruled incomplete that should have been a fumble. It happened right in front of the ref. There's no excuse for that.

He's right, and the ball went out of bounds, so the hawks would have gotten the ball 40 more yards down the field. Shitty call, and it would have helped the hawks a ton.

Pretty sure the ball stayed in bounds on that fumble and Pitt would have easily had the ball.

Watch it again, it definately goes out of bounds.

You can see the pit players stop chasing it though, it would be close between whoes possession it was.

He'd have had to make a hell of a play to recover it in bounds.

and Syke, wtf?

[johnnyawe]

Anyone able to find (or create) a series of still photos or high quality video of the rothlisberger touchdown?

[gabe]

http://www.youtube.com/w/Steelers-To...rs%20touchdown

theres the video

[a500lbgorilla]

http://www.youtube.com/w/Steelers-TouchDown-%231?v=vqzw3lvmJmk&search=Steelers%20touchdown

theres the video

He said on Letterman that they had already called a play for 4th down while it was being reviewed.

[johnnyawe]

ugh.. that would be perfect if it didn't look like crap. I just want to grab a high quality freeze frame and put it up on my website. You would think in the year 2006 I could find a high quality vid or pic somewhere.. Wish I would have Tivo'd the game.

EDIT: here is kind of what I had in mind, but the image is so low quality you can't really make out the ball: http://www.diehardsteel.com/ball-bro...-touchdown-run

[BeatMeBad]

Saying that the Superbowl is rigged is equivilant to saying that online poker is rigged.

Or that boxing is rigged.