Refs made it an 'Extra Lame' bowl

GOT SCREWED, USA -- Complaining about officiating is a time-honored sports tradition. It's much easier to believe your team got screwed than it got whupped because anger is more manageable than sadness.

But, America, please forgive Seahawks fans if they sound a little bitter and paranoid after the rest of the country got its sweet, little fairy tale with Jerome Bettis winning Super Bowl XL in his hometown of Detroit.

Here's the rub: No intelligent person, and that includes Pittsburgh fans, watched the Steelers 21-10 "victory" and believed it was well-officiated. Period.

Seahawks fans promise to stop being paranoid just as soon as the NFL proves it isn't out to get them.

The Seahawks, who were tied for second-fewest penalties in the NFL this year, were flagged seven times for 70 yards. Three were critical. Two were dubious. Another flag was so stupid the official explanation didn't actually make any sense.

As for head linesman Mark Hittner's oh-what-the-hell delayed touchdown call on Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's 1-yard touchdown dive? Think the officials want that tape taken to the FBI crime lab?

The Steelers, who were tied for sixth-fewest penalties this year, suffered just three horrible hankies for 20 yards. Two were false starts on their first possession. The third was offensive pass interference on rookie tight end Heath Miller deep in Seattle territory in the second quarter. That call will inspire no wringing of hands, even from Miller.

Thereafter, apparently, the Steelers felt guilty and decided not to break the rules for the next 35 minutes. Jerome probably wanted it that way.

Apoplectic Seahawks fans are not alone. ESPN.com's Michael Smith pointed this out Monday in a story ripping the officials: "The Seahawks lost 161 yards to penalties when you combine the penalty yards (70) and the plays the flags wiped out (91). By halftime alone, when it trailed 7-3, Seattle had had 73 hard-earned yards and a touchdown eliminated."

Matt Hasselbeck hits Darrell Jackson for a 16-yard touchdown pass for a 7-zip lead?

Nope. The incidental contact that occurs on nearly every NFL passing play was, actually, offensive interference -- at least the officials decided so after safety Chris Hope stomped and huffed and demanded a flag, perhaps insisting that Jerome wanted it that way.

Beleaguered tight end Jerramy Stevens makes a spectacular catch inside the Steelers 2-yard line setting up what surely would have been a Shaun Alexander touchdown run and 17-14 Seahawks lead early in the fourth quarter?

Nope. Seems that offensive tackle Sean Locklear's incidental hooking (which occurs on nearly every NFL play from scrimmage) on his block of Clark Haggans (who was offside) was too dastardly to ignore.

Nope. Only two plays later, Steelers linebacker Joey Porter used an illegal "horse collar" tackle on Alexander, and the officials decided to let it slide, even though that would have transformed a third-and-18 on the Steelers 34 to a first down on their 19.

"Penalties, as much as anything, were the story of the game," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "That's unfortunate. And that might be the first time I've said that in my life."

After the no-call on the horse collar, Hasselbeck tossed a critical interception to cornerback Ike Taylor. Hasselbeck then, apparently, forgot which team he plays for and tried to throw a block in order to spring Taylor. Only he threw a "low block," according to the game's official book.

So not only does he toss a pick and then try to block for an opposing player, but he also gets called for a 15-yard penalty.

Most folks would figure that Hasselbeck was trying to TACKLE Taylor. Seeing Hasselbeck is a quarterback lacking tackling skills, he went low. But the officials decided it was a block. Only Hasselbeck was credited with a tackle on the play.

(The official explanation is he went low on a guy trying to block him, which is against the rules on a change of possession. But the fact that he made the tackle erases, at least for a reasonable person, his potential motivation based on the result. It was a tackle.)

Steelers fans should be angry, too. For one, they know how this feels, see their playoff game vs. Indianapolis, when they were the interlopers ruining the heartwarming tale.

Moreover, the execrable officiating cheapens their championship because it's what folks are talking about now, not the glory of Bettis.

Is all this an accusation -- J'Accuse! -- like Porter's ranting about the terrible officiating in the Indianapolis game?

It's just too bad -- for everyone -- that the officials made sure Super Bowl XL wasn't "Extra Large," as the joke went, but "Extremely Lame."

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.

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