| LudicrousSpeed said: Wasn’t the first Super Bowl the Seahawks? That game was a travesty, rivaled the NBA in terms of officials making horrific calls and deciding the game. |
Yes, the first Super Bowl was XL against the Seahawks. The 2 major penalties that have been so maligned now were referred to as "ticky-tack calls" by announcers at the time. Meaning the calls were legit, but people would prefer them not to be called in a game like that. The thing is, not calling a penalty that has been committed has just as much effect on a game as calling the penalty. So one way or the other, the ref is deciding the course of a game whichever decision he makes.
By the way, I was at that game. The only Super Bowl I have ever been to. I drove from NJ to Detroit that weekend and sat in a Seahawks heavy section of the stadium (although the rest of Ford Field was pretty densely filled with black and gold). None of the Seahawks fans during the game or at the hotel I stayed at pinned the loss on the officiating at the time. They blamed dropped passes by their offense, Matt Hasselbeck's 4th Quarter interception, and the defense for giving up that Willie Parker Super Bowl Record 75 yard TD run.
Jerramy Stevens dropped 3 passes in the game. Mike Holmgren himself said "we did drop the ball uncharacteristically" in addition to being upset about the penalties. And Stevens himself said, "Obviously, I was considered to make plays. I didn't go outside myself. I just didn't make the plays. I had the opportunity to make three or four big plays, and I didn't make them. It was frustrating. I have no one to blame but myself. The bottom line is. I didn't get it done."
Also, Josh Brown missed 2 long Field Goals.
Of the drives that the biggest Seahawks penalties were called on, the first of them was a 1st quarter drive that ended in a FG instead of a TD. So, that's a net loss of 4 points. The 2nd big offensive penalty was on an early 4th quarter drive that ended in a Matt Hasselbeck interception anyway. The Seahawks had 3 possessions in the 4th Quarter. The aforementioned interception, a punt, and a turnover on downs.
Matt Hasselbeck said after the game, "I'm not sure they were mental mistakes as much as just mistakes. I guess it wasn't our day that way. You can't make the mistakes we made and expect to win the game against a good team like that."
The way people talk about the game now, it's only the penalties that effected the game though.
