SuperBowl Memories

[-Cp]

The Pulse: Unnecessary Officiating

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.

Did you enjoy the Super Bowl this year? (18,231 votes)
52.1% No
47.8% Yes

Seattle Forecast

Will fans in Seattle have to wait another generation for a second chance at the Super Bowl? The Seahawks rank behind only the Steelers, Colts and Patriots in the early voting for Super Bowl XLI, but 57% of voters don't think Matt Hasselbeck will play in another Super Bowl, and 61% don't think Mike Holmgren will get back there with the Seahawks.

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? (54,243 votes)
40.1% Antwaan Randle El's TD pass to Hines Ward
30.4% Willie Parker's 75-yard TD run
14.6% Ben Roethlisberger's disputed TD run
12.0% Matt Hasselbeck's interception in fourth quarter
2.3% Seahawks wasting time on final drive of first half
0.6% Hasselbeck's fumble in the fourth quarter

Inside the Story: 14 Points of Contention
Did Roethlisberger get in?
Mike Holmgren told a crowd in Seattle that the Seahawks had to battle the officials just as much as the Steelers, and as mentioned above, two out of three SportsNation voters think the guys in striped shirts affected the outcome of the game.

So exactly what is the source of all this grumbling? Start with a pair of contested touchdowns.

With the game awaiting its first score, Seattle receiver Darrell Jackson appeared to haul in a touchdown to top off his active first quarter. But the points came off the board when Jackson was flagged for pushing off on the defender as Matt Hasselbeck scrambled away from pressure. Offensive pass interference? Not according to 74 percent of SportsNation voters.

Later in the first half, Ben Roethlisberger put the Steelers ahead to stay with a one-yard touchdown plunge. Or did he? The official who signaled for the score at first appeared to be spotting the ball short. And while 15 percent of voters admit they're still not sure if the ball ever broke the plane, 59 percent say the call, and the subsequent instant replay, got it wrong.

Which played the biggest role in determining the outcome of the game? (118,130 votes)
57.5% Officials missing calls
28.3% Seahawks not making plays
14.2% Steelers making plays

What grade would you give referee Bill Leavy's officiating crew for Super Bowl XL? (118,130 votes)
50.6% F
24.8% D
13.9% C
8.8% B
1.9% A

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? (118,130 votes)
73.8% No
20.5% Yes
5.7% I'm not sure

Do you think the football broke the plane of the goal line on Ben Roethlisberger's touchdown run in the second quarter? (118,130 votes)
59.3% No
25.9% Yes
14.8% I'm not sure

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? (118,130 votes)
74.3% No
15.3% Yes
10.4% I'm not sure

http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/story?page=thepulse060206

 

[red states rule]

The refs did help the Steelers win the game.

 

[Gunny]

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.

Obviously written by someone who wasn't around in the 70s, and saw the Steelers of that era play. Two of their Superbowl wins came at the Cowboys' expense, so so much for ranking them higher, and no way were the 49ers better when you compare the opposing teams in the Superbowls. That's revisionist history and wishful thinking, plain and simple.

"The refs helped the Steelers win" sounds like sour grapes to me. Using THAT standard, the refs help EVERY winner of EVERY game, excluding flat-out squash matches.

The Steelers capitalized on the breaks they got. That's the difference between the winners and losers of EVERY game in ALL competitive sports.

 

[red states rule]

I am not a Steelers fans, but the refs were not watching the same game I was.

I did not have a team in the game, but the refs really blew it.

 

[Gunny]

I am not a Steelers fans, but the refs were not watching the same game I was.

I did not have a team in the game, but the refs really blew it.

ANd when don't they? To single this one game out as somehow different than any other is BS, IMO. In fact, I have gotten on a roll a couple of times and sent nastygrams to both the NFL and NBA accusing them of getting their officials from the WWE.

I used to love pro football and if it was on, I was watching it. Now, if I'm not busy, I might watch the Cowboys game, or part of it. When footbal games became more about the officials than the players or the game, it kind of sucked the life out of it for me.

 

[OCA]

Obviously written by someone who wasn't around in the 70s, and saw the Steelers of that era play. Two of their Superbowl wins came at the Cowboys' expense, so so much for ranking them higher, and no way were the 49ers better when you compare the opposing teams in the Superbowls. That's revisionist history and wishful thinking, plain and simple.

"The refs helped the Steelers win" sounds like sour grapes to me. Using THAT standard, the refs help EVERY winner of EVERY game, excluding flat-out squash matches.

The Steelers capitalized on the breaks they got. That's the difference between the winners and losers of EVERY game in ALL competitive sports.


NO WAY WE'RE THE 49ERS BETTER???????????????????

Go check the scores against Miami and against Denver Gunny! The 49ers are 1 of the 3 greatest franchises in modern NFL history, the others being the Steelers and the Cowgirls, we were the best team in each of the 5S.B. victories by far and this is the first i've ever heard anybody say we were helped by officiating....................COME ON NOW!

 

[Gunny]

Obviously written by someone who wasn't around in the 70s, and saw the Steelers of that era play. Two of their Superbowl wins came at the Cowboys' expense, so so much for ranking them higher, and no way were the 49ers better when you compare the opposing teams in the Superbowls. That's revisionist history and wishful thinking, plain and simple.

"The refs helped the Steelers win" sounds like sour grapes to me. Using THAT standard, the refs help EVERY winner of EVERY game, excluding flat-out squash matches.

The Steelers capitalized on the breaks they got. That's the difference between the winners and losers of EVERY game in ALL competitive sports.


NO WAY WE'RE THE 49ERS BETTER???????????????????

Go check the scores against Miami and against Denver Gunny! The 49ers are 1 of the 3 greatest franchises in modern NFL history, the others being the Steelers and the Cowgirls, we were the best team in each of the 5S.B. victories by far and this is the first i've ever heard anybody say we were helped by officiating....................COME ON NOW!

I did not say the 49ers were not "one of" the best. Obviously, they were one of the best pre-free-agency franchises. I just disagree that they were the best, and you help prove my point. Look at their scores and the teams they played against. Based on the level of competition, I would rate SF third at best, behind Pittsburgh and Dallas.

I am not stating absolutely that any team was purposefully helped by the officials. I'm saying poor officiating is part of the game. Given a bad call in their favor, does anyone REALLY thing Seattle would have said, "Oh no, we can't accept this because it's wrong."? Hardly. They'd have called the next play.

Yeah, the officiating sucked. Nothing new. That doesn't diminish in any way the entire season for the Steelers, nor the fact that they capitalized on the breaks they got and won the Superbowl.

 

[Mr. P]

Anyone that still frets over the last Superbowl game in AUGUST needs to get a life. 21-10 WAS IT, cp? :rotflmao:

 

[OCA]

I did not say the 49ers were not "one of" the best. Obviously, they were one of the best pre-free-agency franchises. I just disagree that they were the best, and you help prove my point. Look at their scores and the teams they played against. Based on the level of competition, I would rate SF third at best, behind Pittsburgh and Dallas.

I am not stating absolutely that any team was purposefully helped by the officials. I'm saying poor officiating is part of the game. Given a bad call in their favor, does anyone REALLY thing Seattle would have said, "Oh no, we can't accept this because it's wrong."? Hardly. They'd have called the next play.

Yeah, the officiating sucked. Nothing new. That doesn't diminish in any way the entire season for the Steelers, nor the fact that they capitalized on the breaks they got and won the Superbowl.

Absolutely, during the course of the season bad calls are going to go for you and against you and i'd bet that they usually even up at the end but in the playoffs and S.B. the ref crews are supposed to be the best the league has to offer, eespecially in the S.B. you should expect no glaring bad calls, lets face it there were some bad calls against Seattle that dramatically impacted that game. Another bad call I remember that should have never happened was N.E. vs Oakland in the AFC title game 4 or 5 years ago.......Brady double clutched that ball, fumbled it, Raiders recovered and thee refs overturned the fumble, called it an incomplete pass.......Oakland got fucked on that.

49ers 3rd best?????? You must be shitting me Gunny!

 

[Gunny]

Absolutely, during the course of the season bad calls are going to go for you and against you and i'd bet that they usually even up at the end but in the playoffs and S.B. the ref crews are supposed to be the best the league has to offer, eespecially in the S.B. you should expect no glaring bad calls, lets face it there were some bad calls against Seattle that dramatically impacted that game. Another bad call I remember that should have never happened was N.E. vs Oakland in the AFC title game 4 or 5 years ago.......Brady double clutched that ball, fumbled it, Raiders recovered and thee refs overturned the fumble, called it an incomplete pass.......Oakland got fucked on that.

49ers 3rd best?????? You must be shitting me Gunny!

I can go back to Superbowl IV where a shady call went against Dallas. They lost by 2. However, their FG kicker missed either 3 or 4 FG, plus Craig Morton threw an interception to Dan Curtis in teh waning moments of the game on around the Baltimore 35. They had their chances.

Seattle had theirs.

Y'know, when I said SF was third, I wasn't even taking into account the 60s Green Bay Packers. That would bump then down another notch.

 

[OCA]

I can go back to Superbowl IV where a shady call went against Dallas. They lost by 2. However, their FG kicker missed either 3 or 4 FG, plus Craig Morton threw an interception to Dan Curtis in teh waning moments of the game on around the Baltimore 35. They had their chances.

Seattle had theirs.

Y'know, when I said SF was third, I wasn't even taking into account the 60s Green Bay Packers. That would bump then down another notch.

Shit Gunny! Ronnie Lott would have come on a free safety blitz and knocked ol' Bart Starr back into 1776.

Score of those Packers against the 1980's 49ers? 45-10 Niners.

3rd best my ass, we were the first to 5 S.B. victories! Hehehe!

 

[Gunny]

Shit Gunny! Ronnie Lott would have come on a free safety blitz and knocked ol' Bart Starr back into 1776.

Score of those Packers against the 1980's 49ers? 45-10 Niners.

3rd best my ass, we were the first to 5 S.B. victories! Hehehe!

Playing against some of the teams the 49ers did in their Superbowls my high school team could have been first to 5 SB victories.

Ronnie Lott would have hit Bart Starr once before (a) suffering an "injury" next play, or (b) Starr burning him the next time he tried.

Again, the 49ers and Redskins really had their heydays in an era where they had no opponent. It was just "Which AFC team is going to get beat by the 49ers?" Hard to compare to teams that actually had to play to win.

And that hokey call on the Raiders was in late 01 - early 02 where the Patriots (imagine THAT after 9/11) came out of underdogville to beat two, far-superior teams. If ANYTHING ever said "fix", those playoffs and the Houston-Buffalo playoff game where Buffalo came back from a 30+ halftime deficit back in the 90s would be it.

 

[The ClayTaurus]

Sore
Losers


Let it go.


Just remember, you could be a Lions Fan.:tears1:

 

[OCA]

Playing against some of the teams the 49ers did in their Superbowls my high school team could have been first to 5 SB victories.

Ronnie Lott would have hit Bart Starr once before (a) suffering an "injury" next play, or (b) Starr burning him the next time he tried.

Again, the 49ers and Redskins really had their heydays in an era where they had no opponent. It was just "Which AFC team is going to get beat by the 49ers?" Hard to compare to teams that actually had to play to win.

And that hokey call on the Raiders was in late 01 - early 02 where the Patriots (imagine THAT after 9/11) came out of underdogville to beat two, far-superior teams. If ANYTHING ever said "fix", those playoffs and the Houston-Buffalo playoff game where Buffalo came back from a 30+ halftime deficit back in the 90s would be it.

Alright Gunny, as you know i'm a Niners fan, always have been, I have to live on the glory years right now because the current version of the Niners sucks ass.

Tell me, you don't think those Bengal teams the Niners faced in the first two were any good?

 

[Gunny]

Alright Gunny, as you know i'm a Niners fan, always have been, I have to live on the glory years right now because the current version of the Niners sucks ass.

Tell me, you don't think those Bengal teams the Niners faced in the first two were any good?

The first one yes, and the score reflects. The 49ers barely squeaked that one out. Miami, Denver and/or Buffalo? I don't think Montana/Young really broke a sweat, did they? I beleive in those years the title was decided in the NFC Championship games.

 

[OCA]

The first one yes, and the score reflects. The 49ers barely squeaked that one out. Miami, Denver and/or Buffalo? I don't think Montana/Young really broke a sweat, did they? I beleive in those years the title was decided in the NFC Championship games.

Never played Buffalo.

Cincinnati twice
Denver
Miami
San Diego

 

[Gunny]

Never played Buffalo.

Cincinnati twice
Denver
Miami
San Diego

My bad. I thought everyone beat Buffalo at least once.

 

[jimnyc]

The only remaining memories I have of the SB is Cowher, Bettis & Ward taking turns hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

 

[OCA]

The only remaining memories I have of the SB is Cowher, Bettis & Ward taking turns hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

Hope you got some nice pics from that, it will be another 20 before you guys hoist that again.........Patriots will win it vall this year.

 

[Jimmyeatworld]

Anyone that still frets over the last Superbowl game in AUGUST needs to get a life. 21-10 WAS IT, cp? :rotflmao:

Seattle signed a new free agent. He really fits in with the team.