Blow the Whistle?

This blog is about the Super Bowl...yup...yet another Super Bowl without my Beloved Purple involved. So, what can be worse than that? How bout living an hour north of the Super Bowl Champions....yeah..that's the icing on the cake right there. So I know some people are just anxious to know what I REALLY felt about Super Bowl XLIII. Well...let's begin shall we?

In any given game, any player, coach, media member, or fan can point to a handful of plays that decided the game one way or another. Likewise, these same people can, and sometimes do, point to a few bad calls by the officiating crew that "cost their team the game." Blaming the refs after a heart-breaking loss has become an American tradition, one that everyone has been guilty of at least once in their lifetime, including myself on more than one occasion.

In many ways, this is just human nature. It might be a cop-out, but it is easier than admitting that your team lost...and it was "their" fault. As a player, you do not want to admit that you were outplayed. As a coach, you do not want to admit that your game plan wasn't good enough.
As a media member, you want to create a good story that will help build your legacy as a writer or broadcaster. And as a fan, you just don't want to admit that your team might not have been the better team.

As can be expected, officiating controversy has come into play regarding Super Bowl XLIII between the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, I personally did not have a dog in this fight obviously, but I did have a team I was rooting for. I have no problem coming out and saying that I was pulling for the Cardinals, and I was pulling for them passionately.

It had nothing to do with Larry Fitzgerald, although I think he is a magnificent talent, a seemingly good dude, and one of the great young superstars in the league. It also had nothing to do with the feel-good Kurt Warner story, although I certainly respect what he has done this season and admire the fact that he has come up from a nobody to a superstar...twice!

No, it had everything to do with flat out hating the Pittsburgh Steelers. Root for a team that has never won a Super Bowl then live in the hometown of a Six-time Super Bowl champion...you'll understand. I can't believe that when I came to work the day after the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl and heard people bitching about the calls that went AGAINST the Steelers. You just won the f*%kin Super Bowl!! Can't Steeler fans be happy for two seconds about that?!? Nope, I even had to hear on the Mark Madden show on the way to the Pitt game about how Big Ben is a terrible quarterback that gets lucky he doesn't get sacked every play. Again...he's won the f*%kin Super Bowl for you.....TWICE!!

All that being said, there is no need to fear. You are not about to be subjected to a breakdown of every missed holding call, TD or No TD, and bogus roughing the passer calls. I won't do that because, quite honestly, the majority of the game was pretty evenly called. Yes, there were bad calls, but they went both ways, and some of the more costly bad calls were corrected by coach's challenges. Some people are complaining that there was a hold or a block in the back on the 100-yard interception return by Harrison. I never saw it, and I am not going to look for it because it will further piss me off.

The way I see it, it was not the refs that made Warner throw the interception and they certainly did not prevent the Cardinals players from letting James Harrison lumber 100 freakin' yards for a touchdown! Holding happens on almost every play of every game. The majority of them don't get called. A supposed holding call on that one play was not the difference in the game. Others will point to yet another Harrison play—the unnecessary roughness penalty. Should he have been ejected? Absolutely. Did it change the outcome of the game? Nope.

Late in the game, the Steelers' offense was the difference, not their defense. The presence of Harrison on the field did not stop Larry Fitzgerald from parting the sea on his way to a go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes of the game, and he certainly didn't help Big Ben and Co. march down the field for the game-winning touchdown. While that cheap shot of Harrison's was a disgusting show of poor sportsmanship and class that certainly merits a fine and suspension, the fact that he was not ejected had no baring on the final outcome of the game.

I even complained that Santonio Holmes was not penalized for his celebration after the game-winning touchdown where he used the ball as a prop. Yes, it is true that by the letter of the law, that should have been a 15-yard penalty that would be assessed on the kickoff, and that could have made a huge impact on the game. Part of me sympathizes with the Cardinals fans who believe that should have been called. The other part of me is glad that it wasn't, and I hope and pray that "penalties" like that one will never be called again. But the more I thought about it who wants to win a game based on another team getting called for a bogus celebration penalty that 99 percent of the fan base will argue is ridiculous at best? There are many reasons that people call this league the No Fun League, and the "ball as a prop" rule is one of them.
The only thing that irked me about the no-call is that I know that if that had been the Cowboys' receiver Terrell Owens, the flags would have been flying instantly. Still, that was a no-call that I am fine with.

So up until the last minute of the football game, I had no beef at all with the officiating. I was witnessing a great football game between two talented teams that were both giving everything they had. What more can you ask for, right?

Then came what is now the infamous "fumble" by Kurt Warner.

It was, for all intents and purposes, the last play of the game, and the officiating crew decided that it was not worth taking a good, long, hard look at. Apparently it was so obvious that it did not even merit an official review. Except it wasn't obvious at all. In fact, one view clearly shows (I believe) that Warner's arm was coming forward before he was even touched by the defender. By rule, that is an incomplete pass, not a fumble.

Now, many will think this is just sour grapes. I am just mad because the Minnesota Vikings have never won a Super Bowl, right? Well, yes, but it is more than that.

I think the refusal to at least take a second look at this robbed the Arizona Cardinals of a chance to win this game. If this call were to be reviewed and overturned, the Cardinals would have had about eight seconds left to score a touchdown from the 29-yard line (after the 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty).

Is it very likely to see a touchdown toss of 30 yards with less than 10 seconds to go? Of course not, but the Cardinals also have Larry Fitzgerald. If any team in the league is going to make that play it is the Arizona Cardinals, and they should have at least had the chance.

Now before all my friends who are Steeler fans start calling for my head let me say something...I think this non-review also robbed the Steelers.

Think about it. The team just won their sixth Lombardi Trophy. They should be able to celebrate like rock stars as the undisputed kings of the NFL. Except they can't. Critics of this team will look at this play and say the Steelers didn't earn it. Considering the way the Steelers came back, I do not think this is fair, but it is also reality. Big Ben and the Steelers offense marched down the field in a heroic effort to take the lead in the final seconds of the game, only to have that accomplishment cheapened by yet another unfortunate NFL officiating blunder.

After the Steelers won Super Bowl XL from the second worst officiated game in sports history (Behind game 7 of the Lakers-Kings Western Conference Final back in 2000) why not at least assure that the call was correct, and then, if it wasn't, let the Steelers vaunted No. 1 defense shut the Cardinals down for one more play? If that had happened, the outcome almost assuredly would have been the same, but without all the drama of speculation and conspiracy theorists.

Perhaps more than anything, however, this non-review cheated the NFL fans. This was one of the most exciting Super Bowls in recent history (and some will argue ever). The fourth quarter could not have been scripted any better. Then, with eight seconds left, the officiating crew elected to turn their back on what very well could have been a game-changing play. They robbed the NFL fans of one more exciting, heart-wrenching, jaw-dropping play. Instead of getting to watch eight more seconds of what-ifs, the NFL fans were subjected to a measly kneel-down.

Most people will agree that the Steelers got many lucky breaks in this Super Bowl win. Many more people will agree that the Steelers got these same lucky breaks in their 2005 Super Bowl win. Even more people will agree that those two games that I just mentioned were the two worst officiated games they had ever seen.

And the Steelers are the most popular team in the NFL.

But do I think it was planned? No. Does it suck? Yes.

In conclusion I just wanna add that most Steelers fan I talked to predicted a big blowout win. I would just like one Steelers fan to admit that he was wrong about this game. No, the Steelers didn't lose. But after a week of celebration or however long you celebrate when you win the Super Bowl (how would I know?), I think Steelers fans will realize they needed an unbelievable finish to beat what I still will call the worst Super Bowl team of all time (after beating an 8-8 team at home, and a rookie quarterback and coach at home during the playoffs). Congrats on your Super Bowl win....but here's to hoping it doesn't happen again soon!! Ha ha...