The superbowl was fixed!!! I cannot believe the stupidity of it all!

[Grizzly]

I was absolutely livid with the stupidity of the ref's the coaches and the players for the Superbowl I just watched. You cannot tell me that that game was not fixed somewhere. :banghead :banghead :banghead

[ChgrSteve67]

I posted this in another thread as well, I'll add it here as well since it fits.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hate it when the refs stick there nose in it and favor one team over the other.

Invalidates the game for me.

Commercials were just OK.

Budweiser and Pepsi commercials were the best.
Oh and GoDaddy.com.

Can't wait for Daytona!!!!!! and NASCAR to crank it up again!

[PocketThunder]

the superbowl is fixed every year.....  its been pretty obvious the last few years.

[472 R/T SE]

I was rootin' for Jerome and the Steelers.  But I must say the Seagulls were getting NO respect from the refs.

[OldGuy]

Real Score:
Seattle - 17
Steelers - 14

Offical Score:
Steelers and Officials - 21
Seattle - 10

[Old Moparz]

I forgot it was on. I will  have to check the score to see if I won some money at work in the pool. By the way, who was playing?  

[Old Moparz]

Real Score:
Seattle - 17
Steelers - 14

Offical Score:
Steelers and Officials - 21
Seattle - 10

Thanks. 

[TheGhost]

Real Score:
Seattle - 17
Steelers - 14

Offical Score:
Steelers and Officials - 21
Seattle - 10

Ah, quit your whining.

Seattle dominated in the first half, up till the last minute.  But, they couldn't finish.  And, the last few plays of the half, what the hell was that?

The Steelers came back and dominated the 2nd.  Even if the Refs hadn't blown a few key calls, the Steelers would still have won.  They were the better team.

(No, I'm not biased, I don't like or hate either team.)

[OldGuy]

How would Pittsburgh have won without the officials?

Seattle's first TD was called back on some phantom push off call and Pittsburgh was handed a touchdown when the ball didn't cross the goal line.  Pittsburgh was given every call possible and wasn't close to scoring any other time in the game.

[golden73]

The game is over. You can complain all you want, but it still won't change the fact that the Steelers won.


Now let's move on and talk about how the Bills are going to win next year 

[Grizzly]

Yeah everyone says thier piece and then says "lets move on". To he11 with that. I am a Cowboys fan and I know a fixed game when I see it!! And that was one of then worst I have seen or played, and yes I have played in a few. You think it's ok till next year and your favorite team gets sniped by the almighty dollar...You just wait, you'll see....

[hemihead]

I'm from the Pittsburgh area but I could care less about football . I'm glad it's over.I'm tired of hearing about it. But NASCAR????Talk about fixed!

[golden73]

Yeah everyone says thier piece and then says "lets move on". To he11 with that. I am a Cowboys fan and I know a fixed game when I see it!! And that was one of then worst I have seen or played, and yes I have played in a few. You think it's ok till next year and your favorite team gets sniped by the almighty dollar...You just wait, you'll see....

Hey, my team lost in the superbowl 4 years in a row. It doesn't get any rougher than that.

[TheGhost]

Pittsburgh was handed a touchdown when the ball didn't cross the goal line.

Sure as hell looked like it crossed to me.  You can see it, if you look close, as he's in the air, just before he got hit, the ball is over the line.  When he gets hit, you can see him get knocked backwords a bit.  He still had foreward progress.

The Seahawks made a few mistakes, as well.  Once again, I call to point the end of the first half.  Also, the 70some interception run, that should have been a touchdown for the Hawks.  Also, the "Incomplete pass" in the first half, should have been ruled as a fumble, as he had possesion, and was turned around when he got hit.

The Hawks also had 2 passes that should have been touchdowns, but, the recievers were out of bounds.  That doesn't sound like the officials fault to me.

The game should have been alot closer than it was, but, the Steelers outplayed the Hawks by far in the 2nd half.

[5.9_Liter_Grand_Cherokee]

The way I saw the game, the score at the end of the fourth quarter should have been 14 to 14, and the game should have gone into overtime.  But, the refs beat both teams and we will never know who won Superbowl XL.

[mastermopar]

The refs beat both teams...?? Tell me 1 call that went against Pittsburg...??


I do not remember seing so many "PHANTOM" penalty calls all against 1 team.. I really could have cared less who won. I just believe it would have been a way better game without the "PHANTOM" calls.....

1) The mystery "push off" offensive pass interference for the touchdown that never counted.

2) The 2 "mystery" holding calls to put both field goal attempts over 50 yards.

3) Then another mystery holding call when Seatle complete a pass to the 2 yard line negating the whole play.

4) The best call of all.. Instead of 1st & goal @ the 2 the next play results in an interception where the Seatle quarteback tackles the dude intercepting the pass & then gets called for a personal foul for blocking below the waist.. Looked like a tackle to me........

5) On top of that , The clock is obviously way past zero & Pittsburg is allowed to call a time out..?? Rather than a 5 yard penalty & 3 & 11 Pittsburg gets the gift time out & makes the easy 3rd down & 5 ........

Only 2 Penalties on Pittsburg ... 2 5 yard false start calls @ the beginning of the game.. Plenty of bogus calls on Seatle...

I am not biased towards any team.. I am from Michigan, Home of the Lions..

In my opinion this game was fixed.. Seatle never had a chance..

Cheers , Jeff 

Report to moderator    64.136.48.119 

[gunner]

I seconded that its a bunch of bull

[5.9_Liter_Grand_Cherokee]

The refs beat both teams...?? Tell me 1 call that went against Pittsburg...??

Well, if you think about it, when you are handed a game do you really feel like it was a win???  If you win a race because the officials slashed your opponents tires at the starting line, did you really win?

[ChgrSteve67]

Did you get the money, the ring and the trophy?

If you did then you won regardless if it was honest.

People cheat every day and sleep just fine at night.

By next year no one will remember how unfair the game was to Seattle, only that the Steelers got the trophy.

[ChargerBill]

I was rooting for the Steelers, so I should be happy...shouldn't I? But I'm not! IMO the ONLY thing worse than losing is winning controversially...because no one takes that win seriously. I'd like to think that refs are objective and greased-palms do no happen these days, but there is no other logical explanation for those absurds one-sided penalties. In fact, as much as I wanted the Steelers to win, I question the touchdown where his shoulder was barely over the goal line and he shoved the ball in after forward motion had stopped...WTH? IMO the refs ruined this years Superbowl and the validity of the trophy as well...good grief!!

Hey, they both played a good game, and as much as I'd like to think that the Steelers would have legitimately won without the help of the refs...I guess we'll never know.

BTW: The push-off call was correct...and pretty obvious too.

[twilt]

 
Phantom push off?  you got to be kidding me. That call was one that was obviously correct. Even Stevie Wonder saw that one.
back to crying...........

[ChargerBill]

Did you get the money, the ring and the trophy?

If you did then you won regardless if it was honest.

Wrongo, that's not really winning...these men will ALWAYS wonder if they really deserved that win...IMO that's MUCH WORSE than losing. Maybe a few guys could care less, but in the end all the refs did was rob the Steelers of their honor and integrity by handing them a win they didn't really earn. And like I said, I was rooting for the Steelers.

People cheat every day and sleep just fine at night.

The people who knowingly cheat and sleep fine at night will one day meet their maker and find out that they have an eternity of sleepless nights to get through. A very high price to pay.

By next year no one will remember how unfair the game was to Seattle, only that the Steelers got the trophy.

I believe just the opposite is true. IMO this game will be talked about for years to come and I wouldn't be surprised if officiating doesn't see a shakedown in the form of new rules and future fines for OVER-officiating a game. And yes, everyone will remember that the Steelers got the trophy under less than amiable circumstances...tarnishing their past achievements and needlessly putting them under scrutiny and doubt.

[69_500]

I don't know. Doesn't seem that many people remember the Thanksgiving day game where the official blew the coin toss to start overtime do they?
The refs make mistakes yes, but there is a lot of holding calls that go uncalled as well as some phantom ones that do get called. I question the push off, it could go either way but typically in the NFL they don't call that. They do allow some contact. I think they should revert back to 1970's rules anyways, and let you bump a receiver wherever he is as long as the ball isn't in the air.

[OldGuy]

(Twilt) Phantom push off?  you got to be kidding me. That call was one that was obviously correct. Even Stevie Wonder saw that one.

That explains it all - Stevie Wonder was officiating!! 

New NFL rule - a tackle below the waist is now considered a chop block!! 

[Grizzly]

Well, one thing is for certain.............................It's over for this year. 

[mastermopar]

 
OLD GUY ...... HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND.....

        A CHOP BLOCK IS A BLOCK BELOW THE WAIST.... NOT A TACKLE BELOW THE WAIST......

   **IF IT WAS A PENALTY TO TAKLE BELOW THE WAIST WE WOULD NOT EVEN BE MIDWAY THROUGH THE NFL SEASON DUE TO PENALTY FLAGS... 


=== All the plays I mentioned above in my first thread were obvious BUT 1 play in particular STANDS OUT in my mind...

   This is what absolutely fused me.. & again I really could have cared less who won. I was actually hoping for the Stee;ers until all the bogus calls & it became OBVIOUS TO ME what was taking place.. 

*Hasselback tosses his only interception..

     Hasselback dives to make the tackle tacking the ball carrier

        Hasselback gets penalized 15 Yards for "BLOCKING" below the waist on "Takling" the ball carrier.. 

*Pittsburg gets ball @ near midfield thanks to the bogus personal foul .........

*** NOW COMES THE PLAY THAT BURNS THE SHIT OUT OF ME... ------------->>

**Pittsburg 3 or 4 play later(who gives a shit when) uses there infamous "gadget play"

    As the reciever rolls out to get ready for an obvious pass Roethlesburger does a "CUT BLOCK" "BELOW THE WAIST" on the defender pursuing the reciever attempting to make the pass.. Of corse , No call touchdown Pittsburg..

Hassleback's Tackle was nowhere near a personal foul.
Roethlesburger's "CUT/CHOP BLOCK" was an obvious personal foul...


Where they came up with that officiating crew is beyond me.. I had never heard of any of them & we all know the NFL'S best officials.. Where were they..

**All I wanted was a nice hard Football game..  This was not that... 

[OldGuy]

Mastermopar,

What you are saying is my point.  Hassleback went in low to tackle the ball carrier - not to make a block - and they called him for a chop block!!  So, if that is what the officials based the 15 yard penalty against Hassleback on - it must now be against NFL rules to make a tackle below the waist!!.

[472 R/T SE]

How are you blocking anyone when you're suddenly playing defense?

If Hasselonhisback went at that upright, they would have knocked him on his duff.

[mastermopar]

   OLD GUY ,

           Plenty of wide recievers and running backs get takled below the waiste.. If your analogy is correct why are those tackles not peanlties..??

[472 R/T SE]

Watch some of these so called top notch running backs try to block a linebacker.  It's comical to say the least.  That's the first time I heard that call all year.  My team's back LJ is a joke when he's trying to block, and never once got called on it last year.

Again, I was cheering for the Bus.  I just like to see it from both sides.  I agree that Holmgreen may have been blackballed. 

But look at the Steelers throughout the playoffs, the bad calls they had thrown at them but were still able to win.  Seattle needed to step up to the plate and they failed.   As Grant Wistrom said, "We have no one to blame, but ourselves."

[OldGuy]

Mastermopar -

As the warden said in "Cool Hand Luke" - "What we have here is a failure to communicate". I agree totally with what you are saying.  I was being cynical/facetious.  I am not proposing that the NFL change the rules to make a tackle below the waist illegal or that current rules make it illegal.  Hasselback, as a defender, performed a totally legal tackle below the waist but was penalized 15 yards by the game officials for throwing a cut/chop block - (he wasn't blocking - he was tackling) which was a blown call.  By that call, the officials in essence made it illegal to tackle below the waist.

Are we on the same wave length now??

[ChgrSteve67]

I'm done with football for the year and bitching about the refs...

I have lots of experience complaining about the refs... I'm a RAIDERS FAN!!!!!!

Lets talk about how great the Daytona 500 and the Chase for the Nextel Cup is going to be this year.

[gunner]

I am cool with both teams but i think alot of the calls were bull%$#& the fact of the matter is that the refs go into a game with a game plan of calling a foul even if it is a possability that it didn't happen  as for the 15 yard penalty for hasselbacks tackle that was a joke but i don't no if they can change a call like that did any one see the news this morning about the refs making a public apology over the dumb calls and how the steelers first touchdown was not really a touchdown???
Ben

[Recharger]

Just to add fuel to the fire of the conspiracy theorists....

Roethlisberger was on Letterman tonight, and just admitted that he didn't think he got that touchdown.


Let the drama continue...

[8WHEELER]

Really........ I will say, being in Seattle, and living within 15mi all my life that does not make
me feel better or worse. As for making the situation worse, I don't think so, he did his
best and he did not call it a touchdown. I think Seattle handled him pretty well, and he
acted with class from everything I saw.

Dan

[Silver R/T]

I didnt even watch it, saved myself from disappointment

[69_Hemi_Charger]

Real Score:
Seattle - 17
Steelers - 14

Offical Score:
Steelers and Officials - 21
Seattle - 10

Ah, quit your whining.

Seattle dominated in the first half, up till the last minute.  But, they couldn't finish.  And, the last few plays of the half, what the hell was that?

The Steelers came back and dominated the 2nd.  Even if the Refs hadn't blown a few key calls, the Steelers would still have won.  They were the better team.

(No, I'm not biased, I don't like or hate either team.)

Are you kidding? The refs called back at least three of the Seahawks major drives. The "pass-interference" on the touchdown was absolute BS! And they made many other questionable calls on the Seahawks.

Seattle had more first downs, more yards on both air and ground (factoring in return yards), and a far better production than Pittsburg throughout the game. Pittsburg managed to win because of the big plays, mostly due to the terrible calling by the refs.

Nope, if the refs had not been favoring Pittsburg, Seattle would have:
    A- Made at least three more scores
    B- Taken all the wind out of Pittsburg's sails from the very beginning
    C- Thus WON the big game
The only chances that were given to Pittsburg were the handouts by the refs.... And please show me more than two plays in a row where Pittsburg dominated?

Although I will say that Seattle's play calling at the end of the game was also ridiculous, but what can you do? They got cheated the whole game....

[firefighter3931]

        Hasselback gets penalized 15 Yards for "BLOCKING" below the waist on "Takling" the ball carrier.. 


    As the reciever rolls out to get ready for an obvious pass Roethlesburger does a "CUT BLOCK" "BELOW THE WAIST" on the defender pursuing the reciever attempting to make the pass.. Of corse , No call touchdown Pittsburg..

Hassleback's Tackle was nowhere near a personal foul.
Roethlesburger's "CUT/CHOP BLOCK" was an obvious personal foul...


Where they came up with that officiating crew is beyond me.. I had never heard of any of them & we all know the NFL'S best officials.. Where were they..

**All I wanted was a nice hard Football game..  This was not that... 

Sorry man but you need to brush up on the rules:

(1) Hasselback didn't chop/tackle the ball carrier....he chopped the guy that was blocking for the ball carrier. Big difference ! Had he tackled the actual ball carrier with a jit below the waist there would have been no foul. That was a good call by the refs.

(2) The Rothlesberger hit on the flea flicker was a legal block. You are allowed to clip a defender between the tackles and within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage.

Ron

Ps. On the Rothlesburger TD : It looked like the ball broke the plane of the goal line while he was in the air...not by much but it was over. By the time he hit the ground it looked like he hadn't made it in. The side judge had a pretty descent vantage point and i'm sure the replay judges did a frame by frame disection on that play to back up the ruling on the field.

It was an ugly win for Pittsburgh, no doubt. Their defense did an outstanding job holding the hawks to 3 points in the first half. Classic defensive battle, but as they say....defense wins championships.

[1970440RT]

Sorry man but you need to brush up on the rules:

(1) Hasselback didn't chop/tackle the ball carrier....he chopped the guy that was blocking for the ball carrier. Big difference ! Had he tackled the actual ball carrier with a jit below the waist there would have been no foul. That was a good call by the refs.

(2) The Rothlesberger hit on the flea flicker was a legal block. You are allowed to clip a defender between the tackles and within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage.

Ron

Ps. On the Rothlesburger TD : It looked like the ball broke the plane of the goal line while he was in the air...not by much but it was over. By the time he hit the ground it looked like he hadn't made it in. The side judge had a pretty descent vantage point and i'm sure the replay judges did a frame by frame disection on that play to back up the ruling on the field.

It was an ugly win for Pittsburgh, no doubt. Their defense did an outstanding job holding the hawks to 3 points in the first half. Classic defensive battle, but as they say....defense wins championships.

To add to Ron's response, typically if they are throwing flags for borderline offenses it has happened previously and they are watching that player. 

   Jackson's flag was a push off.  And 2 feet in front of the official no less.  You can't watch the replay and honestly say he did not push off. 

   The holding call was also a good one.  Again I refer to the replay.

   The refs didn't force the Seahawks to bite on the trick play, nor did they lead block for Parker on the record breaking run.  The penguins did not hand Taylor the interception or stop Seattle from converting on 3rd down.

MAKE PLAYS, NOT EXCUSES

    The win was ugly but that is how the Steelers do it.  Over and over.  Those who follow the Steelers know this and we will have absolutely no problem sleeping.

[bull]

I liked the outcome because I don't like either team and no matter how you look at it it's a loss for Seattle and a hollow win for Pittsburgh. Perfect!

[ChargerBill]

I liked the outcome because I don't like either team and no matter how you look at it it's a loss for Seattle and a hollow win for Pittsburgh. Perfect!

LOL bull, you crack me up...please, don't hold back...

I agree 100%...definitely a lose, lose situation.....

[69_Hemi_Charger]

I liked the outcome because I don't like either team and no matter how you look at it it's a loss for Seattle and a hollow win for Pittsburgh. Perfect!

[Mopar Madness]

 Yeah, those ref's!! They made the Seahawks drop all of those passes! And made the Hawks defense move out of the way so Parker could make that big run!

[Grizzly]

Folks will keep fooling themselves until "they're" team gets the same treatment......and then, oh yeah it's wrong then. Classic lazy mentality, it's all good as long as it doesn't happen to me... Seattle is not my team , nice name and cool uniforms but I still say they got robbed.

[nh_mopar_fan]

For people to insist that the refs didn't effect the outcome of the game is silly. If that's the case, why is the NFL out defending their refs? Do you think it's just Seattle fans that have an issue with the way the game was called? I suggest that you might want to pick up a newspaper outside of Pitt or check ESPN.com and read what people who follow the game are saying.

[bull]

For people to insist that the refs didn't effect the outcome of the game is silly. If that's the case, why is the NFL out defending their refs? Do you think it's just Seattle fans that have an issue with the way the game was called? I suggest that you might want to pick up a newspaper outside of Pitt or check ESPN.com and read what people who follow the game are saying.

People can say all they want but unless there's an obviously bad call on an obviously pivotal play, like a TD call during the last 40 seconds in a tie game, there's no way anyone can tell if or how much a referee can effect the outcome of a game. Seattle had plenty of opportunities to overcome the points deficit in the game after those supposed blown calls but they didn't because they couldn't. Holmgren said it best, Seattle was outplayed.

[TheGhost]

For people to insist that the refs didn't effect the outcome of the game is silly. If that's the case, why is the NFL out defending their refs? Do you think it's just Seattle fans that have an issue with the way the game was called? I suggest that you might want to pick up a newspaper outside of Pitt or check ESPN.com and read what people who follow the game are saying.

Oh, I agree, the refs made some really bad calls against the Hawks, BUT, those calls also happened early enough that it was more than possible for them to recover. The Seahawks were still in the game in the 4th quarter.  They just couldn't get it done.  They looked like crap in the late 4th quarter.  That's not how you win pre-season games, let alone the Superbowl.

[1970440RT]

Folks will keep fooling themselves until "they're" team gets the same treatment......and then, oh yeah it's wrong then. Classic lazy mentality, it's all good as long as it doesn't happen to me... Seattle is not my team , nice name and cool uniforms but I still say they got robbed.

The Steelers get MORE than their fair share.  A truly bad call is when the NFL issues a statement on Monday or Tuesday that a call upheld on Sunday was wrong.  THAT happened to the Steelers and they still won.  So far, no apologies for the Superbowl.

For people to insist that the refs didn't effect the outcome of the game is silly. If that's the case, why is the NFL out defending their refs? Do you think it's just Seattle fans that have an issue with the way the game was called? I suggest that you might want to pick up a newspaper outside of Pitt or check ESPN.com and read what people who follow the game are saying.

The refs affect the outcome of every game.  All they need to do is throw one flag.  As a matter of fact, they are paid to affect the outcome of the game.  Please, I beg someone to honestly tell me there were no fouls on the plays in question.  The only one I'm even close to being on the fence for is the personal foul call on Hasselbeck, but according to the rules, it seems they made the right call.  Foul or not, Hasselbeck must make that play to save the touchdown.  Kind of like holding to prevent a blindside sack. 

What is silly is thinking that sportswriters don't write their opinion.  Their are plenty outside of Pitt and on espn.com that believe the Steelers earned the game.  Seems to be trendy to blame the officials these days.  If not for the Phantom interference in the New England game and the overturned interception in the Pitt-Colts game ( which a correction was issued after the game ) these calls would not be causing such a stir in the national media.  A few obvious bad calls have caused everyone to overanalyze everything called after that. 

[jmanscharger]

If Seattle would have come out and dominated the game in any way they would have won. It was obvious from the beginning they had a finesse game plan to account for Pittsburg's rush that was a game plan playing "not to lose" the game rather than to win the game. Teams that play not to lose usually lose close and blame the refs. I don't care who won, I was looking forward to an attacking offense and defense but we only saw flashes. Pittsburg ultimately won because they made less stupid mistakes, and yes the close calls did go their way, but they also made the plays to make the game go their way.
Remember the Redskins played this safe- not to lose game plan against Seattle- Seattle turned the ball over three times, had their best player knocked out but kept attacking and won the game. Go home and bring an aggressive game plan next year to win the Super Bowl.