article from ESPN.com

[LPDBlueDevils]

Gene Wojciechowski wrote this
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And finally, can we stuff a very large sani-sock into the mouth of Seattle coach Mike Holmgren, and anyone else who says the refs had it out for the poor, little Seahawks?
The signs are very clever (Refs 21, Seahawks 10 ... or, Pittsburgh's 12th Man: The Refs), but they're bogus. It's how sore losers rationalize a final score. Worse yet, it's crying. And there's no crying in football, unless you're Hines Ward.

I know what you're thinking Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos and, yes, Seattle Seahawks. You're thinking about the way the Steelers bumbled about in Ford Field, and you're saying to yourselves: "Tell me again how we lost to these guys?''

Think about Sunday's game:

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger freaked out ... The best Pittsburgh pass of the day (and I'm stealing Michael Irvin's line here) was thrown by wide receiver Antwaan Randle El ... The Steelers' inspirational "hero,'' Jerome Bettis, rushed for a grand total of 43 yards and couldn't pound it in when Pittsburgh needed him most ... The Steelers had fewer passing yards, less time of possession, fewer total yards, and more turnovers.

And yet, the Steelers won by 11, covering the spread with ease. Conspiracy theories arrived moments later.

The refs stole it.

The NFL "wanted'' this.

The Seahawks were really the better team.

Look, the game itself was 3 hours and 36 minutes of yawns. I think we can all pretty much agree on that. I loved the story lines, but the game, not so much.

But to simply dismiss the Steelers victory as an act of referee kindness is to take a Bettis-sized leap of faith.


AP Photo
Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones need a new gig.
Sorry, but Seahawks receiver Darrell Jackson pushed off in the end zone. Did it gain him an advantage? Maybe. Maybe not. All that matters is that the official standing nearby -- a lot closer than John Madden, you or me -- thought so. Instead of a touchdown, Seattle settled for a 3-0 first quarter lead.

Sorry, but Roethlisberger might have broken the plane of the goal line on his second quarter 1-yard TD dive. Or not. That's what matters, right? Not where he landed, but if the ball broke the plane? The play was reviewed and upheld. What else was anyone supposed to do? And while there are no guarantees, if the ball had been spotted just short of the goal line, the Steelers were 100 percent on fourth-and-goals this season.

Sorry, I truly don't know whether Sean Locklear held Clark Haggans on that key fourth quarter call. Even if he didn't, and it was first-and-goal from the Pittsburgh 1, then what? If you can't guarantee Pittsburgh's scoring on fourth-and-inches in the second quarter, you can't guarantee Seattle's scoring on first-and-goal from the 1. Why? Because funny things happen, like the Bettis fumble against Indy. Or Roethlisberger's underthrowing a wide-open Cedrick Wilson against Seattle, costing the Steelers a sure touchdown or a likely field goal (the ball was at the Seahawks' 7). Instead, Kelly Herndon intercepted the crummy pass, returned it 76 yards and Seattle scored three plays later.

No one can deny there were questionable calls during the game. But before Holmgren and Latte Nation start whining about playing "the guys in the striped shirts as well,'' perhaps a history lesson is in order.

The striped shirts didn't cause tight end Jerramy Stevens to drop four passes. The striped shirts didn't cause the Seahawks defense to give up a Steelers first down on a third-and-28 situation (which later led to the Roethlisberger disputed TD). The striped shirts didn't cause the Seahawks defense to give up the longest touchdown run in Super Bowl history. They also didn't cause Etric Pruitt to sprint up from his safety position, only to be fooled by the trick play that resulted in Randle El's 43-yard TD pass to Ward (and by the way, if everyone knows the Steelers like to run gadget plays near midfield, don't you think the Seahawks knew it too?). Or cause Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to throw a killer interception with nearly 11 minutes left in the game and Seattle trailing by only four points.

Enough already with the whining. The Seahawks had their chances. Plenty of them to overcome the Steelers and, if they insist, the refs, too.

Holmgren, who didn't exactly distinguish himself in the waning minutes of both halves, is no doubt suffering some post-Super Bowl anger. Perfectly understandable, especially in front of the thousands who greeted the team upon its return to Seattle. But days, weeks, months from now, when he's able to think more clearly, he'll realize the only people to blame for the loss were wearing Seahawks metallic blue, not black and white.

[89bluedevil]

Amen! Seattle had their opportunities. The writer left out the 2 missed field goals also. These calls could have easily gone against Pittsburgh if the refs were so bad. Granted the Super Bowl seemed like a boring game, but to a Pittsburgh fan that was how they seem to play most of the time. I wish the whining would end and the Champs would get some credit.

[Diets17]

Just watching the NFL Network Game of the Week, which of course is the SuperBowl.

Things I noticed so far.

1. Ben says on his "supposed" TD to one of his fellow players. "I didnt get in", fellow players on the Steelers also say "its going to be overturned"

2. Ref who called it is talking to Holgrem and says, "your right, its going to be overturned"

I know theres many more questionable calls, but at this point in the program thats the first one it has shown. Just interesting to see what was really taking place on the field at the time of review.

[timmy_v]

I heard today that Ben is now saying that he got in on that play. But to me it didnt look like he got in but the refs say that he did so he did.

[89bluedevil]

I feel like that when Ben was up in the air the nose of the ball seemed to break the plane of the goal line, but after contact was made by the Seattle player the ball slipped down to his waist and he hit the ground. I don't believe the replay was "conclusive" so that they could have reversed the call either.

[Diets17]

The ball may very well have went over the plane while he was in the air. If it wasnt a TD, then its as close as it can possibly get.

Lets look at this though another way, the ref walking in to spot the ball wasnt gonna call it a TD until he saw that the ball was over the plane while Ben was on the ground. Then he calls it a TD. No way he sees that from almost 20 yards away that the ball breaks the plane while Ben is in the air.

So my question is, what if he doesnt call it a TD and spots the ball an inch away. Does the replay overturn THAT call, and make it a TD? I think not.

[89bluedevil]

I agree. I'm not sure a replay would have shown the ball clearly broke the goal line either. That's why you have to accept the call on the field. If he didn't signal TD until Ben placed the ball over the line, then it was a bad spot resulting in a score. What bothers me is that a lot of people act like this is the first time this has ever happened in a game. Then again it might be getting more attention since it was the Super Bowl or I'm touchy about it since I'm a Steeler fan. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[starbuck]

Yeah, I'm tired of it too. The one Stevens pass that he dropped should have been called a fumble but was ruled incomplete, call for the Seahawks on that one.

[imported_mega]

At the same time, the ball rolled all the way to the 10 yard line, it was as good as a punt if not better considering they didnt down one inside the 20 all night. It worked out for the steelers better since it wasnt ruled a fumble.

[jake_norris]

It really shows a lack of class whenever a losing team blames the refs/umps/whatever for a loss. I mean, come on. They just got outplayed. I'm impartial to the whole situation, but I'll always side against a sore loser.