Sports

[Cobalt Katze]

Go Seahawks

... yeah, it's hard to avoid here in Seattle. People are going crazy.

[Strokke]

Here are my teams: Lakers, White Sox, Packers. I did basketball and track in high school, and continued track in college for a short time before I succumbed to an injury and "retired"

[Flagg]

Just sad that the refs where on the steeler's side, but we still should have won that game man this is a sad day indeed.

[Cobalt Katze]

For sure. Oh well, both teams had some great moments and some not-so-great. It was pretty even overall, but yes... the refs+crowd were what did it over.

[Pirotess]

Heh Im not a fan of either team but the Seahawks didnt convince me they deserved a win there regardless of calls.

[Strokke]

I think the seahawks proved they were the better overall team. Steelers won largely in part of having timely HUGE plays and timely ref calls. Steelers had 4 momentum shifting plays and the seahawks only had one. Overall the ref calls went slightly in favor of the steelers, but the timing of those calls really hurt the Seahawk's chances.

[Pirotess]

I agree the calls hurt the Seahawks but in all the replays the calls clearly looked right. The only one that was questionable was the Big Ben rushing TD but since there was no clear evidence to overturn the call Levy could only go with what had been called on the field.

[Strokke]

Theres no point in arguing with you because we both have our own opinions but I have a poll from espn with almost 12,000 respondants that shows I am far from being alone

1) What grade would you give referee Bill Leavy's officiating crew for Super Bowl XL?

45.4% F
26.4% D
15.8% C
10.5% B
1.9% A

2) How do you rate the overall state of officiating in the NFL?

35.1% Average
30.5% Bad
21.7% Good
10.6% Abysmal
2.0% Excellent

3) Did the officiating in Sunday's game unfairly favor one team?

76.7% Unfairly favored the Steelers
18.1% The right calls were made
5.2% Unfairly favored the Seahawks

4) Which played the biggest role in determining the outcome of the game?

52.8% Officials missing calls
32.5% Seahawks not making plays
14.8% Steelers making plays

5) Do you think the official made the right call on Darrell Jackson's offensive pass interference in the endzone, negating a Seattle touchdown in the first quarter?

71.7% No
22.3% Yes
6.0% I'm not sure

6) Do you think the football broke the plane of the goal line on Ben Roethlisberger's touchdown run in the second quarter?

56.6% No
29.0% Yes
14.4% I'm not sure

7) Do you think the official made the right call on Sean Locklear's holding penalty in the fourth quarter, negating an 18-yard reception to the one-yard line by Jerramy Stevens?

72.7% No
16.6% Yes
10.8% I'm not sure

8) Do you feel that you understand what constitutes a ''football move'' on plays involving potential fumbles?

62.4% Yes
37.6% No

9) How much would creating full-time officiating positions, instead of the current part-time positions, help improve the quality of NFL officiating?

44.9% A lot
42.5% A little
12.6% Not at all

10) Which major sport has the best officials?

43.8% MLB
22.2% NHL
21.1% NBA
12.9% NFL

Total Votes: 11,973

[Pirotess]

An ESPN poll is a impartial account of the general public? That poll is skewed in the very way its worded in some places (question #4) and leads its readers to vote a certain way. Not to mention I doubt that Steelers fans were out polling at ESPN after the game. I'd have loved to see that poll include the question "Which team were you rooting for to win?". That would have shed some light on the situation.

As for the 4 disputed situations.

I watched the game and all the replays. By the letter of the law Darrell Jackson did push off. No one can argue that. What can be argued is whether the officials should have deemed it necessary to enforce the rule. Since it was literally right in front of the ref I dont blame them for enforcing it. We'd have been arguing whether the Steelers got screwed or not there if they hadnt.

I wont argue Ben Roethlisberger's TD was questionable. Unfortunately that exact criteria is what made it unable to be turned over. It was just centimeters from the line one way or another and even the replays didnt give us a clear view. That being the case the general concensus is you go with the call on the field unless there is clear evidence to overturn.

But thats not really what I meant when I said the Seahawks didnt convince me. I mean a perfect example was their clock management at the end of both halfs. I've never seen sloppier. Josh Brown missed two field goal attempts wide left and wide right, Stevenson had a bad case of the dropsies and Alexander never really seemed to click into gear and didnt even score. The Steelers were no better in the first half but at least they took advantage of turnovers unlike the Seahawks.

Anyway, the Seahawks can do better (I've seen them do just that all year) but unfortunately for them the Steelers were able to do better at the crucial time. Maybe next year. I'll be rooting for the Da Bears then just like I was this year.

[Strokke]

The fix was in I tell you!