Incredible.... NFL REALLY needs to explain this

Just when I thought I was over the whole Super Bowl thing.... This is OUTRAGEOUS.

The back judge who threw that horrific and very late flag on offensive pass interference IS A PITTSBURGH NATIVE. As Omni Frog so eloquently put it " Seattle is moving the ball well, gets all the way to the Pitt end, TD. The defender points at the receiver and whines to the ref, taking his cue, from the defender, he throws his car keys, then his bifocal case, a ticket on Pitt -4, where is that flag? Finally gets it out."

How in the living HELL does the NFL allow a native of Pittsburgh to officiate in a super bowl with Pittsburgh in it? That is mind boggling. Then the guy goes and does that to screw Seattle. I'm not sure if it was the same guy, but later another back judge threw a mystery holding call from 20 yards away to wipe out a long punt return in the seond quarter by Peter Warrick when Seattle had all the momentum.

Letting him onto the field is like letting me officiate a Florida-Florida St game. Oops thats already been done. :>Grin>

I don't ever call fix, but those who do, this is big ammunition. How could the NFL screw up this blantantly and badly? There is no way you can let an official from any Super Bowls team home town officiate. They shouldnt be doing that teams regular season games ever either.

If I were Seattle, I would lodge an official protest of the game NOW. It wont win, but they should be screeching bloody murder in Seattle now.

Here is the article I read from USA Today. Its very good.



Article by Ian McDonald
USA Today

Super Bowl referees foul, but then so was everything else
If officials, umpires and referees are forever charged to rise to the standards of world-class athletes and coaches, nobody should be any more shocked than Claude Rains was in Casablanca when they sink to those standards, too.
Yep, the officiating stunk Sunday. Bill Leavy, former cop and firefighter, must have done a better job directing traffic and putting out whatever gameday fires were started by overzealous moms and dads during his days refereeing games in the San Jose PAL.
But good luck finding anyone or anything that didn't stink in and around Super Bowl XL. Mike Holmgren stunk. Ben Roethlisberger stunk. Jerramy Stevens stunk. Mick Jagger stunk. The commercials stunk.
So it stood to reason that the officiating crew would spend a largely forgettable evening in Detroit making that overturned Troy Polamalu interception in Indianapolis look like the call of the century. Zebras are human, after all.
Sometimes they can watch a college basketball coach with a heart condition collapse face-first onto the court, be taken off on a stretcher while wearing an oxygen mask, and still assess Houston's Tom Penders a technical foul. For, what, not having a better defibrillator implanted in his chest?
These are imperfect creatures, their live-action flaws measured against a zillion slow-motion truths. Fact is, officials, umps and refs are affected by the same variables that would affect you and your next-door neighbor if you were asked to spend a national holiday serving as on-site judge and jury before 68,206 spectators and 90.7 million of their closest friends watching from home.
To wit: Ford Field might as well have been Heinz Field. Dan Rooney never saw so many Steelers fans in his five previous Super Bowls, and we all know what a home crowd can do to a mere mortal armed with a whistle and flag.
It can turn him into Bob Waggoner, back judge, reaching awfully late into his pocket to wipe out a 7-0 Seahawks lead on a ticky-tack foul that should never get called in a high-stakes game. Was Waggoner influenced by the protesting Chris Hope? By that raging yellow sea of Terrible Towels?
"I'm not in a position to comment at this time, unfortunately," Waggoner said Monday by phone.
Only a fool would suggest that Waggoner, a Pittsburgh native, was scoring one for the home team. He was doing the best he could under pressure that can't be simulated by the three-hour psychological exam he passed to earn his NFL stripes.
The pressure gets to the best of 'em. Holmgren lost track of the downs in his previous Super Bowl appearance, and ordered his defensive unit to let the Broncos score a late touchdown (in order to get back the ball) when he should've ordered it to make a stand. This time around, Holmgren did a terrific job running out the clock at the close of the first and second halves despite the fact he was trailing at the time. How could a championship-caliber coach like Holmgren decline to kick a field goal in the game's final seconds when his only chance amounted to a three-pointer, a recovered onside kick, a touchdown and a two-point conversion? Good question, just like this one:
How could the head of a Super Bowl crew tell the world that Matt Hasselbeck was guilty of an illegal block after he tackled the Steeler who had just intercepted his pass?
Like Holmgren, Leavy makes mistakes. Leavy and his crew made some big ones Sunday, all at Seattle's expense. The lame holding call on Sean Locklear that negated a huge (and rare) Stevens catch might've prevented Holmgren from becoming the first coach to win Super Bowls for different franchises. Then again, Holmgren might've prevented Holmgren from becoming the first coach to win Super Bowls for different franchises, with an assist from Stevens, whose grip proved to be as loose as his lips.
Leavy could've helped matters earlier by overturning Roethlisberger's non-touchdown. But once ABC showed that Leavy likes overturning calls as much as Polamalu likes trips to the barbershop, you knew the referee wasn't really examining the replay anymore. He was actually studying a hidden-camera view of The Rolling Stones' green room, looking for evidence of illegal motion.
It's time for Jagger to ride off on Jerome Bettis' Bus, and for Madison Avenue to come up with something better than the ad showing a woman on an airline, landing in a stranger's lap. (Note to ad execs: If viewers recall the commercial but not the product the commercial promotes, try again.)
So in the end, the sideshows were as lousy as the players, coaches and refs, as lousy as the officiating has been throughout the playoffs. NFL misery loves company. That's a Super Bowl slogan that merits a yellow flag.

Seems like the deck was really stacked against Seattle....the hometown
ref was probably the grand marshall at the Pitt Parade today. Too bad
this fiasco will be remembered only for all the bad calls.

That was Offensive Pass Interference. Receiver puts his hands out and onto the defender, clearly pushed the defender back a step as he changes directions, then goes to make the catch after miraculously getting 3 yards of separation.

Get the f over it.

clearly was not interference. you get over it.

Get real. A Pittsburgh native shouldn't be allowed to officiate any games involving Pittsburgh? C'mon that's ridiculous. Should we assume you also believe that any Pitt natives on the Seattle roster should be suspended, because they might throw the game to let their childhood team win? Being an official is all about integrity. I could ref an Illinois basketball game, and I have in fact umpired an Illinois baseball game. You don't think about anything but the job that you have to do. It would be absolutely ridiculous to have a meeting....."Bill, we are not going to let you work this game, because you are from Pittsburgh." Trust me, when you are an official, you have no friends, and are not a fan of any team. Both teams are the enemy, and you and your partners are the only team you care about.

Mr. Smith said:

clearly was not interference. you get over it.

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Can you explain to me why it wasnt interference?

I used to umpire baseball games as a teenager. I know about having no bias rooting for nothing but a clean game. I was a good umpire and I NEVER made a call ever for any reason than I thought it was the right call. If one of the managers was a jerk to me, I still called it fair.

Even one time when my brother came into pitch as a reliever in a pressure spot. I was behind the plate. I remember calling a pitch right down the middle ( but a touch low) a ball. He stared in at me like he wanted to kill me. But it was a couple inches low. Next pitch, same exact spot. I call it a ball again. he looks at me like he really wants to kill me. Normally though situations like that dont happen. When they do, it can create the perception that funny business and homerism is going on. What if on a 3-2 count, bases loaded, my brother throws what should be ball 4 and I honestly just make a bad call and call it strike 3? That looks shady.

that is part of the problem with allowing a guy from Pittsburgh onto the field in a super bowl. It is wrong because it makes bad situations possible, like for instance a VERY late and highly questionable call to wipe 7 points off the Seattle board. Maybe he really felt it was pass interference. Maybe he was influenced by growing up in pittsburgh and not wanting to be responsible for not giving them in his mind a borderline call which could go either way.

Its one thing to ref an Illinois baseball game. If I umped a FSU baseball game, I would try to be fair. Its quite another to have a potential conflict of interest from a Super Bowl official. NFL should have gone to the next best qualified ref for that spot. JUST COMMON SENSE to do that, to avoid any hint of impropriety, like we have now.

note- I'll never forget this one. I was on a college baseball team and we were having a practice game with some other school before the reg season started. No real umps, I was behind the pitcher calling the bases. Our shortstop makes an absolutely fantastic play on a grounder, flips it to second ( I call baserunner from firszt out) second baseman wheels and fires to first for a truly espn sportscenter quality double play. Guys on our bench are yelling and screaming as the first baseman catches the ball. Bang bang play at first. I call the guy safe. My experience as an ump automatically had kicked in and I called it the way I saw it. My teammates were livid at me. I felt three inches tall. But I thought the guy was safe. It was very close.

That said, as a dolphin fan, even if I were qualified to ump a super bowl, never should it happen. I would be in position to make one judgement call and give them the benefit of the doubt and influnce the game in Miamis favor. That opportunity, even it could happen subcounsously should be avoided.

If I umped a red sox-yankee playoff game, I wouldnt even try to be impartial. I would give Boston anything and everything I felt I could possibly get away giving them. But that is a special case.

anyway, back to point, many NFL refs out there, INSANE to let one in from Pittsburgh. Leaves a black mark on the game when he makes a crucial and questionable call. If the guy was from San Diego, I would know he called interference cause thats what he thought it was. He being from Pittsburgh, I wonder if he got influenced by Steeler player, croud behind him with Steeler towels, perhaps a past history of being a steeler fan. Big big call for someone with questionable impartiality to have to make.


NFL= World Wrestling Federation on this one.

Mr. Smith is EXACTLY right... It is not just about the integrity of the ref, it is about perception of those other folks (all of us) involved!!!

Think about it....how easy it is for someone to say, "He was a Pitt guy all along!" when maybe it was an honest to God bad call by a Pitt native and he would have made the same bad call even if he had been from San Diego!!? Now, if they had used someone that had NO association with the area, there is one less gripe...the good and fair gripe being that was a bad call, but favoritism would have been out of the question.

Let us be prudent and beyond rebuke in our actions....

Great stuff, Mr. Smith! tulsa

PS...not to be political at ALL, but is similar to gov't contracts to Halliburton in latest Iraq war. It would have been better for everyone if the admin had said...because of VP involvement with the company they are excluded from the contracting/bidding and THEN there would have been NO question of ethics...... The co. could have then sub contracted with companies that won the contracts and there would be oversight by the companies they subcon'd for....but nope...now we have to argue about something that shouldn't have been an issue....

especially considering how late the flag was and how questionable the call was, it really does look like he could have been influenced. Maybe he had visions of his name being infamous FOREVER in pittsburgh like ( Don Denkinger in St. Louis) if he did not throw a flag on a play replays should was a foul. I would say replays did not show a foul, but I believe ump was very afraid he might be no-calling something that would greatly hurt Pittsburgh. He thought about it, saw Pitt defender looking to him for help, and out comes the hanky.

Ref was influenced by his past and wanted no part of possibly making a mistake against Pittsburgh, close call ( In his mind, not mine) and he decided to err in favor of Pitt instead of against them. I believe that is what happened and it stinks like yesterdays fish.

Mr. Smith said:

Ref was influenced by his past and wanted no part of possibly making a mistake against Pittsburgh

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Maybe we don't agree as much as I thought. I'm saying he shouldn't have been there. I don't believe that he was biased as I don't know him from Adam. I do believe that having careful selection of who's making these calls keeps people from saying that the 'Ref was influenced by his past...' and that would be better. If he were from another town it would have just been a shitty call. That happens. But poor judgement was used having a Pitt native reff'ing the game....

tulsa

I don't agree at all. When you become an official, your days of being a fan are over for that particular sport. Like I said before, your attitude is "fuck both of these teams, I'm here to do a job." It has to be, when A-Rod is at the plate, and you have to ring him up. You treat them with courtesy, but you don't admire any of them. When you watch games, you root for the officials to get the calls right. You watch through different lenses. And there is no way the NFL could tell an official, "you're a helluva ref, but you are from Pittsburgh, no dice." The integrity issue goes without saying. They wouldn't be officials if they were not trusted. Think about it, if you were the supervisor of officials. How in the hell could a guy be worthy of being an NFL ref, but not worthy of working the SB because of where he is from?

they are seperate points

1) he should not have been there. being a pro referee, even if he were trying his best to be impartial, its possible he could have been influenced by his past, the crowd or a steeler player begging for help on a bang bang call he could go either way on. where is the upside to him being there anyway? NFL has 30+ ref crews. If he was the highest rated back judge, they easily could have gone to the next best rated guy and not lost anything.

2) I think the pause in the flag shows he was influenced by his past. He wanted no part of screwing the steelers. what if a replay showed blatant pass interference and he no-called it and Pitt lost by 2 points? He might get burned in effigy in Pittsburgh. I think that thought went thru his mind.

Mr. Smith said:

Ref was influenced by his past and wanted no part of possibly making a mistake against Pittsburgh, close call ( In his mind, not mine) and he decided to err in favor of Pitt instead of against them. I believe that is what happened and it stinks like yesterdays fish.

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The human mind doesn't work fast enough for him to have done what you say he did. You just make the call. And you don't speak for him, either, so you're not in position to judge him. I really wonder just how much you lost on this game.

Mr. Smith said:

they are seperate points

1) he should not have been there. being a pro referee, even if he were trying his best to be impartial, its possible he could have been influenced by his past, the crowd or a steeler player begging for help on a bang bang call he could go either way on. where is the upside to him being there anyway? NFL has 30+ ref crews. If he was the highest rated back judge, they easily could have gone to the next best rated guy and not lost anything.

2) I think the pause in the flag shows he was influenced by his past. He wanted no part of screwing the steelers. what if a replay showed blatant pass interference and he no-called it and Pitt lost by 2 points? He might get burned in effigy in Pittsburgh. I think that thought went thru his mind.

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It's obvious by the fact that you won't let go of this, that you have seen the replays. If you look at the replay closely, you see the ref reaching for the flag and not being able to find it. It was probably the wrong call, but he was going to make it from the get-go, not because the Pitt player asked him to call it, or the fact that his best childhood friend, if he's still alive, would likely want him to call it that way.

Illini said:

I don't agree at all. When you become an official, your days of being a fan are over for that particular sport. Like I said before, your attitude is "fuck both of these teams, I'm here to do a job." It has to be, when A-Rod is at the plate, and you have to ring him up. You treat them with courtesy, but you don't admire any of them. When you watch games, you root for the officials to get the calls right. You watch through different lenses. And there is no way the NFL could tell an official, "you're a helluva ref, but you are from Pittsburgh, no dice." The integrity issue goes without saying. They wouldn't be officials if they were not trusted. Think about it, if you were the supervisor of officials. How in the hell could a guy be worthy of being an NFL ref, but not worthy of working the SB because of where he is from?

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Well you're wrong. So is Mr. Smith. All of this, of course, is just my honest opinion. Illini, no matter how great a ref you are you should not be allowed to ref an Illini game. You know why? Is it to protect the game and outcome? No. It is to protect you and who you are as a referree and the integrity of all refs. There will be no questions about bias...just about bad calls, but not biased calls. No fellow called Illini will ref an Illini game! He will ref all the others but on this one.....no.

Mr. Smith is assuming that because someone is from Pitt they cannot be unbiased. BULLSHIT. They can. The problem is that you believe that no one from Pitt can be unbiased. That actually proves my point. He shouldn't have been there. He might have made the same call had he been from Tishomingo, OK or Halifax, NScotia. On the other hand....he really might have been biased. The only way to work with that is to never have the questionable there in the first place.

If I were a wagering man (LOL,) I would wager the guy was doing the best he could....and made a shitty call. Too bad for him people think he is biased when he just made a bad call.... He would have been spared that type of question had someone else been there for that game.... Give that guy a spot on the ref team when Pitt ain't in the SuperBowl...next year, for example. tulsa

Illini, you obviosly had integrity as a ref. So did I. But we know EVERYONE does'nt. Consider that. Maybe you would call em like you see 'em and I would, but not everyone would.

I dont think he purposely tried to screw Seattle. But I do think he had a moment where he got scared that he might be screwing his very likely childhood favorite team in a HUGE HUGE situation! Why was he allowed to be put into that situation? its senseless. Maybe 99.9999 times out of a hundred that guy has integrity coming out of his ears but in this spot he panicked a bit and reached for the flag out of fear he might be making a mistake which would never, never be forgotten in steeltown with a no-call. I think that happened.

Being a super bowl ref is a huge spotlight. screw up a regular season call in any sport, it eventually gets forgotten. screw one up in the super bowl and your name can be mud forever. he had to call a bang-bang play either way. had he at least called it right away, his opinion would be more believable. the late call is highly suspicious. smacks of what I said above or even outright fraud.

Mr. Smith said:

they are seperate points

1) he should not have been there. being a pro referee, even if he were trying his best to be impartial, its possible he could have been influenced by his past, the crowd or a steeler player begging for help on a bang bang call he could go either way on. where is the upside to him being there anyway? NFL has 30+ ref crews. If he was the highest rated back judge, they easily could have gone to the next best rated guy and not lost anything.

2) I think the pause in the flag shows he was influenced by his past. He wanted no part of screwing the steelers. what if a replay showed blatant pass interference and he no-called it and Pitt lost by 2 points? He might get burned in effigy in Pittsburgh. I think that thought went thru his mind.

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The only way someone can become an official is to not think this way. You don't stand in awe of the players, and you are not intimidated by the coaches. If an official were as weak-minded as you are suggesting, he never could have made it this far. He would be afraid to make a call, because afterall, the coach of one of the teams might yell at him. Like I've said, the attitude among officials is that it's a fraternity. Fuck the coaches, players, and fans of both teams. We are our own team, competing every night to get every call right that we can. And if the players, coaches, or fans don't like our call when it is the correct one, even better. Fuck 'em.

I have not seen any replays. I saw that play once. If he reached for the flag right away cause thats what he thought he saw, it changes nothing about the original point of my post.

Putting a ref from Pittsburgh into a super bowl with Pittsburgh in it is asinine and has no upside. It can lead to the hint of impropiety and I cant see why the NFL would touch that with a ten foot poll. Stupid. I would guess this might have been under their radar, but perhaps in the future, hometowns of refs assigned to the game will not be. This situation does not look good at all.

Tulsa said:

Well you're wrong. So is Mr. Smith. All of this, of course, is just my honest opinion. Illini, no matter how great a ref you are you should not be allowed to ref an Illini game. You know why? Is it to protect the game and outcome? No. It is to protect you and who you are as a referree and the integrity of all refs. There will be no questions about bias...just about bad calls, but not biased calls. No fellow called Illini will ref an Illini game! He will ref all the others but on this one.....no.

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Well I did. I would never ref an Illinois football or basketball game, because I am a fan. I prefer being an Illinois fan than pursuing being a basketball or football official. And although I don't umpire anymore, I did drive to that game with an Illinois jacket in my car. I couldn't name one player on their team though, so it's a bit different. I do hear what you are saying though, and would never put myself in that situation.

Alright, I cannot continue. I know, personally, one NFL ref and he's a good one and he agrees that no one should be judging their hometown team...no matter what.

I really do know him and he really said this. I didn't need him to say that. You know why? I already knew that.

You guys are both wrong in my honest opinion. LOL! I don't know how you both did that...but I believe that you are.

NOW, say what you want, but I am moving on to other things and other threads and will not reply. IN NO WAY does my silence mean that I agree with anything anyone else has to say. I don't and I won't. I can't say much more to make my case. Good luck and the thread was very interesting! tulsa