Posted on 02/06/2006 3:20:41 PM PST by maineman
Upon further review, SportsNation finds insufficient reason to get excited about the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl XL in Detroit on Sunday.
By beating the Seattle Seahawks 21-10, the Steelers gave Jerome Bettis the perfect parting gift as the burly running back heads into retirement. The Steelers also became just the third franchise to win a fifth Super Bowl, although SportsNation voters still rank them behind the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys for dominance during the Super Bowl era.
But while Pittsburgh fans can revel in the moment of Antwaan Randle El's strike to Hines Ward and savor the historical significance of Ben Roethlisberger's first title, most of SportsNation appears a little put out with Sunday's show (and not just the part involving the Rolling Stones). More than half of SportsNation voters didn't enjoy the game and nearly 62 percent think officiating mistakes affected the outcome.
Voice of the FanI'd have to say the perfect image from Super Bowl XL was the ref running in to spot the ball on Big Ben's sneak at the goal line, then inexplicably calling it a touchdown halfway there, after Ben had scooted the ball over the line. I didn't think NFL refs actually fell for that. JT (Cleveland)
Let's rename the NFL the WW-NFL; that way we won't be surprised when the game is fixed. They REALLY need to do something about the officials; they've screwed up this whole year and topped it off with a Super (Let's Show Favorites) Bowl. I'm not a fan of either team, but I was hoping to see a good game, not one decided by the zebras. I was VERY disappointed. Art (Frederick, Md.) What kind of officiating was that? Absolutely terrible calls that killed Seattle's chances of winning. If those penalties were called against Pittsburgh, people would be screaming murder today. Chris (Charlotte)
I am not a Steelers or Seahawks fan, but I have to say that this was one of the worst-officiated Super Bowls I've seen in a long time. It was sad to see the refs have an impact on what would have been a great game. Jason (Buffalo)
The refs might have made some bad calls, but Seattle didn't exactly help their cause by dropping passes, missing field goals and awful two minute drills. They had their chances to win the game. KB (Baltimore)
Wow, despite all the drinking at Super Bowl parties yesterday, there's apparently still plenty of whine left over! Mike (Washington, D.C.)
Perception is reality. The calls the refs made were, by the rule book, not incorrect. But by all of them being called on Seattle, it is open to criticism and discussion. Hende (Ohio)
Even if the Seahawks did not take advantage of their other opportunities, the officials should not be overly visible in a game. This is a problem that existed all year. The NFL has to do something about the bad officiating this season. Mike (Cohoes)
SportsNation's Show: During the GameJeremy Green: This might be one of the worst-officiated games in Super Bowl history. Every call they want to make, they should just go the opposite direction.
Gary Horton: From the replays I saw, I don't think [Roethlisberger] was in. I think he touched down before he crossed the plane. But the call that really confuses me is that they didn't review the potential Darrell Jackson TD catch. He was closer to being in than we thought.
Did you enjoy the Super Bowl this year? (18,231 votes) 52.1% No 47.8% Yes Do you think officiating mistakes affected the outcome of Super Bowl XL? (103,167 votes) 61.7% Yes 38.2% No
Which is the best franchise of the Super Bowl era? (53,176 votes) 30.1% San Francisco 49ers 23.4% Dallas Cowboys 21.5% Pittsburgh Steelers 15.5% New England Patriots 9.2% Green Bay Packers
What was the biggest play of the game? (33,096 votes) 40.0% Antwaan Randle El's TD pass to Hines Ward 30.2% Willie Parker's 75-yard TD run 14.4% Ben Roethlisberger's disputed TD run 12.7% Matt Hasselbeck's interception in fourth quarter 2.2% Seahawks wasting time on final drive of first half 0.5% Hasselbeck's fumble in the fourth quarter
Including this one, how many Super Bowl titles will Roethlisberger win during his career? (33,096 votes) 39.0% Two 29.6% One 24.8% Three 6.5% Four or more
where do you come down on this game? I think Seattle won. how about you.
I would have thought that Pittsburg would be penalized for having extra players on the field. Then again, referees rarely penalize themselves.
A 12th man doesn't do you a whole lot of good... when you're up against 18.
For Seattle, although Hasselbeck had good stats, there is no way that some of the other great QB's we've seen win Super Bowls in the last 15-20 years (Favre, Young, Montana, Simms, Aikman, Brady) would have let their offense fall apart like they did at the end of each half.
where do you come down on this game? I think Seattle won. how about you.
AGREED
So far only the Steelers (apt name), Steeler's fans and Rush Limbaugh think they won - the rest of the country thinks that player number 127 should be named MVP for the game ....
Just my humble female opinion
Regards,
Jane
That, and clock management, which is a sideline responsibility. Ending the first half with a timeout left was poor, as was Hasselback spending thirty seconds running around calling an audible (or whatever the hell he was doing). That looked Mickey Mouse.
But the worst of the game was the officiating. When the officials are so much a part of the game, something is wrong.
There's an unwritten rule in the National Hockey League when it comes to the refs in the playoffs: you guys don't fight, and we'll let you play.
That's the way it usually works out. There are very few fights once the playoffs start, and penalties aren't called unless they're blatant.
Thus, the NHL playoffs are among the best championship series in professional sports.
Too much interference from the refs in this year's NFL playoffs have made them the worst in my memory.
As a St. Louis Rams fan, I don't like the Seahawks. That said, they won, in my opinion.
The officals have nice long careers in ahead of them in the WWE where bad officiating is the norm.
When a receiver puts his hand on the DB's chest and delivers a stiff arm with a full extension for the push off, that will almost always be (correctly) called offensive pass interference, unless the receiver's name happens to be Randy Moss. Get over it. It was a correct call regardless of what Michael Irvin (not the most objective source on the subject of offensive PI though one of the more experienced in the area), Steve Young, and John "Oh heck that wasn't a penalty" Madden have to say about it.
When an offensive lineman is flat out beaten by the defensive end so he throws an arm around the guy's neck or shoulder to try to ride him off of the QB (in one case literally tackling him in the other simply slowing him down enough for the QB to get rid of the ball), it will be called holding if it is the 33% of the time that the back judge or ref actually sees it. "Holding, Number 75 Offense" should have been called two or three times more than it was, but the two times that he got called were both good calls. Just because the one that resulted in a big pass being called back was slightly less flagrant than the other one didn't make it a bad call.
Forget the game, what about ABCs production? I thought they thoroughly sucked. Al Michaels acted bored, and as usual we often went to commercial with no expanation-time out? end of quarter? what happened? Madden goes off on wild tangents and the two of them have long conversations about some off the wall thing and ignore what is going on on the field. Just another Monday night in my opinion.
That was somewhat the case last night as well. There were not many penalties, other than blatant ones that happened right in front of the ref. The only penalty that should not have been called was the chop called against Hasselbeck. And even that wasn't called for his tackle but rather for the blocker that he chopped as he was making the tackle. The refs should have talked that one out a bit and said, the guy he was hitting was the ball carrier even if he did also hit a blocker, so pick up the flag. So one bogus penalty call is hardly enough to say the officiating was the "worst" aspect of the game.
Madden and Michaels have to be the worst football announcers on television. At least put some guys in the booth that sound interested in the game. It's like having NPR host the Super Bowl.
The refs were too much a part of the game. They blew the whistle to kill plays that might have benefitted Pittsburgh too quickly as well.
NOPE!!! The Steelers blew the Hawks away and CONGRATULATIONS STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did you watch the game? Are you aware the team that ends the game with a higher score is the winner?
Maybe you think Seattle played better at points throughout the game but the simple answer is the Steelers won.
horrible from start to finish.
no they had it given to them, when you win you earn it.
Theisman and the idiots in the booth with him for the Sunday Night ESPN broadcast are worse than Madden and Michaels. And ESPN has the Monday Night game starting next season. You'll we wishing for the good old days of Madden and Michaels soon. Of course MNF hasn't been the same since Cossell and Dandy Don Meredith left.
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