Referees Ruined Superbowl 40

But that's okay, since you have four more rounds to respond. Since you didn't respond to my arguments, I will reply to two common points made by Pittsburgh fans. Seattle lost because:1. Seattle's defense gave up big plays.2. Jeremy Stevens dropped passes. Okay, Seattle did not play a perfect, flawless game. Is that the reason they lost the Superbowl? By that "logic," no team would ever win the Superbowl because no team has ever played a perfect game. But the bottom line is: Seattle played better than Pittsburgh. Sure, Pittsburgh had a couple big plays. But as I showed in the first half, these plays were aided by the referees ignoring violations. Seattle made big plays, but the referees negated them with bad calls. I will also show more in the second half. And yes, Jeremy Stevens dropped passes. But even if he caught everything thrown to him, Seattle still would have lost because the refs would call more bogus penalties to make up for it. How do I know this? Because THE BETTER SEATTLE PLAYED, THE WORSE THE REFEREES TURNED AGAINST THEM. Let me explain. Seattle dominated Pittsburgh in the first half, but got shafted many times by the refs, as I already demonstrated in Round One. Then, very early in the third quarter, Pittsburgh scores a touchdown to go ahead 14-3. At this point, it looked like Pittsburgh had the game under control. Amazingly, I could not see as many bad calls against Seattle. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying the officiating was fair at this point; it was still against Seattle, just not as ridiculous as the first half. In Round One, I showed a comparison of a nitpicky pass interference penalty against Darrell Jackson that called back a touchdown to a blatant violation by Hines Ward in the third quarter that the refs ignored. Some have tried to say it was less than five yards from the line of scrimmage, but this is not the case. They started at the 40 yard line, and Hines Ward was across the 35 when he committed the penalty. Besides, this was such a clear violation that it should have been a personal foul for hands to the face. Needless to say, if a Seattle player did this, it would have been called! Here is a better look at the play:. http://www.wordonly.net... At this point, the refs are still favoring Pittsburgh, just not as blatantly as in the first half. However, when Seattle came back and threatened to take the lead, the referees responded with the ugliest officiating in NFL history. Pittsburgh threatened again, but Ben threw an interception with a big return and Seattle scored a touchdown just a few plays later, narrowing the gap to 14-10. Then late in the third quarter, Pittsburgh punted the ball well and Seattle had to start from their own two yard line. The next drive is a microcosm of the entire Superbowl. Seattle steamrolls up the field, then gets stopped by terrible officiating. Seattle had the best offensive line in the league that year. In fact, you could make a legitimate case for the left side of the line (LT Walter Jones, LG Steve Hutchinson) as the best ever in the NFL. They took over the game! If not for the refs, this would have gone down as the best drive in Superbowl history. Neither the Steelers defense nor the hostile crowd could stop them. They were near midfield at the end of the third quarter, and continued moving up the field in the fourth quarter. Here is the drive before the refs interfered:. http://www.wordonly.net...As I stated earlier, the officiating wasn't as bad when Pittsburgh was ahead 14-3. But now Seattle's offensive line has taken over the game and the momentum is strongly in Seattle's favor. Pittsburgh's defense is unable to stop Seattle. Pittsburgh players were down, as I will show later in a video. But just when Seattle has taken over the game, the referees took the game away from Seattle. The next four plays should go down as the biggest travesty in NFL history! The lengths the referees went to keep Seattle from scoring was incredible. Bill Leavy admitted to blowing two calls in this series. He is referring to the holding penalty on the first play and the illegal block penalty on the fourth play. However, all four plays had blatant errors, all going against Seattle.1. Seattle is at the 19 yard line and completes a pass to the one yard line. Seattle has overcome adversity and absurd officiating, ready to score a touchdown and take a 17-14 lead. But wait! Once again, the referees call a ridiculous holding penalty. Not only was it a bad call, since Pittsburgh was getting away with more than this all game, but two Pittsburgh players jumped offside and the refs ignored it. Even the NFL executives, who were obviously attempting "damage control" because of Leavy publicly admitting to blowing calls, said the Pittsburgh player was offside. The referees should not have called Seattle for the hold. It was a terrible call. If that is a legitimate holding call, then we will never get through a football game because the refs would call holding on every play. Seattle should have had first and goal at the one. Even if the refs call this penalty, they should also call the obvious offside penalty. This would be offsetting penalties and Seattle would again face first and ten at the 19. Instead of first and goal at the one, or even down over as first and ten at the 19, it is first and 20 at the 29. But, moving on . . 2. Hagans (53) jumps offside again and the refs ignore it again! This should be a five yard penalty, making it first and 15 at the 24. Instead, Pittsburgh gets a sack so it is second and 25 at the 34. But, moving on . . 3. Alexander (37) runs the ball to the 27. Joey Porter (55) horsecollared him, but, as usual, the refs ignore it. Horsecollar is a 15 yard penalty and an automatic first down. Or in this case, half the distance to the goal to the 13, facing first and ten. Seattle would be right back in business! Instead, it is third and 18 from the 27. But, moving on . . 4. Hasselbeck throws an interception, then makes the tackle. Now the refs call a low blocking penalty on Hasselbeck. Making the tackle is a penalty for a low block? Here is the four play fiasco:. http://www.wordonly.net...Instead of taking over at the 29, Pittsburgh takes over at the 44. After two plays, Pittsburgh faces third and two. On this play, there is holding by two different Pittsburgh players that were ignored. The most obvious was Hines Ward grabbing the defenders arm. It is one thing to hold while engaged in battle, but to reach out and grab a players arm when he is not even engaged in battle, is as obvious as it gets! This non-call is inexcusable. . http://www.wordonly.net...In the above play, it was third and two. The holding penalty would have made it third and 12, which was much more difficult. But when the holding was ignored, and Pittsburgh picked up the first down, they ran their gadget play, essentially ending the game. As the announcers kept saying, Pittsburgh likes to run their gadgets near midfield. The bogus illegal block penalty moved the ball from the 29 to the 44, getting them closer to midfield. Then the ignored holding penalty gave them what they needed to run the play that iced the victory. Seattle took over the game with their drive from the two yard line, and Pittsburgh was demoralized because they were helpless to stop Seattle. In fact, Pittsburgh players jumping offside were signs of frustration because Hasselbeck had too long to throw and was picking them apart. When the refs took over the game, this gave Pittsburgh new life. This video expresses how important how important of a turnaround this officiating fiasco was:. http://www.wordonly.net...The impact of the officiating could not be any more obvious. Now I am running out of space so I turn it back to my opponent.