Refs made it an 'Extra Lame' bowl

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/258583_miller07.html ^

[OldFriend]

Madden was criticizing the officiating DURING the game.

[sangrila]

Have never seen him. This will be my last post on this thread. I will leave by stating that pro and major college sports are often fixed. That is not being paranoid. It is called being realistic and not believing something just because it is more fun to believe. I don't believe in the tooth fairy either. Some people think WWF is real also.

[mcg2000]

Irvin was in a nasty mood all week over the HOF snub! YIKES!

[MikefromOhio]

LOL

you got that right.

I think that happened the year after the Broncos won their 2nd Super Bowl too. They either went 4-12 or 5-11, I can't remember.

Someone actually mentioned Cleveland as a possible location Alexander would go. We don't want him. He can't create his own yards like Rueben Droughns can and the offensive line in Cleveland won't be nearly as good as it was in Seattle.

The only RB that I would take that is in the league right now would be either LaDanian Tomlinson or Larry Johnson. Otherwise, I will stick with Droughns,,,

[Chode]

FWIW... back in the 70's I never would of believed a Superbowl could be fixed but one year my bookie came into the bar at halftime and gave me and a couple other guys Pittsburgh Steelers World Champion Superbowl hats. (NO dallas hats)
Now I know that they have to make hats for both teams before the game is played on the premise either team could win and the hats had to be there and ready in either event, thing was... it was Halftime when he handed them out. It also just happened to be the year that the Bookies cleaned up on the spread! He was my Bookie and my girlfriends father... he was one scary individual to say the least, and he cleaned up.

[Petronski]

...Irvin a ex-Cowboy crack/pothead, and Young a ex-49er Steeler hater...

Neither guy could have liked the idea of Pittsburgh joining the "Five Trophy" club. Madden's still carrying around that famous grudge from 1972.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Young's favorite receiver made a stinking living out of pushing off coming out of the break.

[Beowulf]

By having part time refs the league has the excuse it wants for certain teams being helped to a win.

Awww, yes. The NFL equivalent of "selected not elected". I have an inside scoop for you. The Steelers are a fix to win the NFL championship every year for the next decade. Shhhh, don't tell anyone else.

[MikefromOhio]

Eddie wasn't even on their roster this year.

I was kinda hoping someone would pick him up. But he's still in the HOF so no big deal I guess.

Believe me, if the hole isn't there, Alexander won't hit it hard either :)

[brainstem223]

He fell way short of the goal line, the airborne part was on the playing field, his helmet barely broke the plane, not the ball... you were obviously sucking toooo many buds...

[mcg2000]

As if hats can't be made in advance? Supply and Demand 101 ... CNN ran a story about 2,500 missing Bronco Super Bowl Champion 2006 shirts missing.

[Petronski]

He fell way short of the goal line, the airborne part was on the playing field, his helmet barely broke the plane, not the ball...

I've seen that play twenty times, and the tape doesn't show that. And I don't drink budweiser. I prefer beer.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Dang. I'm just down the road. I should pay closer attention. But Alexander's name has come up with the Titans.

[mcg2000]

[MikefromOhio]

yeah....

that makes a bit more sense than Cleveland does....

I could also see him in Philly or Carolina as well. Maybe.

or possibly Jacksonville now that I think about it.

[mcg2000]

Tennessee is going to have a boatload of money to spend over the next three years. It was good to see Fisher resist the temptation and stay in Nashville.

[Proud2BAmerican]

Ok, I think it's fair to say that reading this article, and the numerous others of similar sentiment, one can draw the inference that the authors believe the game was fixed. First, I would wonder -- what's the motivation? I mean, really; the risk the NFL would take to "fix" a Super Bowl would be HUGE. Can you imagine the catastrophic black-eye the sport would endure if somehow it came to light that NFL execs had fixed the Super Bowl? Massive loss of revenue, heck - maybe even some lawsuits even. I would be willing to bet there'd even be a Congressional investigation. So there's a HUGE risk - I don't think there's a word that can come close to describing just what a gigantic risk it would be.

And so what's the reward? Let's assume that it was fixed, and the refs were all in on it. And let's say that they did a better job than they did, and nobody was the wiser. All fans, at the game and in the stands, believed the Steelers really were the winners, fair and square. Would the NFL see massive returns on this risk? Will the sale of Steelers memorabilia skyrocket and spur a national economic boom? Will the NFL suddenly begin drawing in the capital necessary to buy a medium-sized country and establish the United States of Football? Doubtful. It would be simply another chapter in the rich history of the game, something Steelers fans would always remember, and die-hard football fans in general as well; time would dim it in the memories of most fans, even moreso the casual observers.

So the risk is infinitiely greater than any reward that could come from such a move by the NFL.

Here's another problem. Logistics. Who concocted this idea? Tagliabue? I can't imagine him daring to trust this idea with another soul, but he'd have to; he'd at least have to speak to the refs. How often do you think Tagliabue makes ANY move without at least a dozen people knowing about it? I'll bet he has personal maids, butlers, chauffers, several handlers that manage his daily affairs : "Mr. Tagliabue, you have a meeting today with the players union at 3; a teleconference with the overseas advisory committee at 9am; and a fitting for the post-game gala at 2pm." Do you really think he could sit down and discuss this incredibly difficult plan with the game-day refs ahead of time? Work out all the kinks. Does Tagliabue even KNOW enough about the occupation of referreing to be able to advise them properly? And keep in mind that if he enlists the help of confidantes, then each one of THEM probably has personal staff who might also be privvy to the goings-on behind closed doors; or at least have a WHIFF of what's going on. All those eyes, ears, and tongues -- and not ONE of them would let slip? With all the media scrutiny and public/fan scrutiny that's been going on -- is it really plausible that something so HUGE would remain a secret?

Third problem: How do the refs implement such a plan successfully? What if there aren't those "critical" moments that lend themselves to "coulda gone either way" type of calls that they can consistently call against the pre-determined loser? What if the Seahawks had come out and just completely dominated from start to finish? Would the refs start tossing players? Calling 8 consecutive false starts? Ordering that the Seahawks not be allowed to have 4 chances to get a first down on each series? I've never heard such outrage over a Super Bowl before; which leads me to believe that if this has been going on all along, they've either done a magnificent job of it previously, or the team they wanted to win was going to win anyway without the zebras' help. And if they HAVEN'T been doing this all along, then whoever made the decision must have a LOT more confidence in the ability of these referrees to be able to pull off such a job than the normal, sane person would. Unless of course, you want to go with the Manchurian Candidate theory, and these refs all had microchips embedded in their brains that switched on to "fix mode," once Tagliabue pushed his little red button on the end of his cane or something.

To sum up regarding "a fix" -- too difficult, too great a risk for not enough reward, and too many possibilities for the truth to be leaked out.

[PackerBoy]

The clipping call was correct, although it seemed odd given the players involved and the obvious intent of the "blocker." But the rule does not care about intent; only who hit whom where.

[Souled_Out]

---

"I've seen that play twenty times, and the tape doesn't show that."

---

You are right.

If you watch the play frame by frame you will see the ball crosses the line in mid air and is brought back as he hits the ground.

I have watched this play several times and when I show it to friends that wanted the squawks to win, they change the subject.

[Petronski]

I could not agree more...
...but I blame the Military-Industrial complex...
...and LBJ, of course!