Super Bowl of a Steaming Pile

Ok. After a couple of days to allow my frustration to settle, if not slightly dissipate, I am ready to post an entry on my feelings about the Super Bowl.

I'll keep it simple. Seattle fans are absolutely furious with the officials. Pittsburgh is complaining because everyone is "cheapening" their win. The vast majority of football fans, regardless of who their team was, admit that the officiating was absolutely ridiculous.

The fact is, it's not fair. Numerous columnists at ESPN.com and SI.com (Sports Illustrated) have written about how obviously one-sided the calls were. No one, not even the most rabid Steelers fan, could rewatch that game and not admit that, indeed, there were unfair calls, all aimed at Seattle (who, btw, had I think the second-lowest number of penalties/penalty yards in the entire NFL up to the Super Bowl). Every time Seattle had a big play it was somehow being called back on a questionable flag. Seattle fans had little to celebrate after the second quarter. Joe Young stated on ESPN after the game that Seattle got beat by 15 men on the field, not 11. Four were clearly wearing zebra stripes.

(Note: Some fans gripe about the location, the fact that 90% of the crowd was pro-Pitt because it was 300 miles from Pitt and that it wasn't neutral, especially since it's Jerome Bettis' hometown. But the site is decided way ahead of time and Pittsburgh just got lucky. So that's a moot point)

One person (who didn't really care which team won) wrote on ESPN.com that in the second quarter they had a terrible feeling that Seattle simply wouldn't win the game no matter what they did. Another wrote that the refs should have just handed Jerome Bettis the trophy when he came out of the tunnel and not even bothered with the whole "play a football game" idea. Numerous neutral fans across the nation have rallied to say the Seahawks were absolutely robbed.

Let's be honest- the Locklear holding call? No holding there. The Hasselbeck below-the-waist block call? Um, hello, professional men in the black and white stripes get paid big bucks to recognize the difference between a block and a tackle. There were others, but is anyone surprised that the offensive pass interference call (the biggest bunch of bologna ever) was made by a ref whose hometown is PITTSBURGH??? Are you kidding me? Does no one stop to check these things? I would be the first to say if a ref had been from Seattle to not let them officiate the game. Duh.

So... yes, we were "absolutely robbed". That said... we also missed opportunities. We didn't do a good job of working the clock in the fourth quarter. Hasselbeck ran one of the worst two-minute drills I have ever seen and he had a few passes throughout the game that were overthrown (not to mention the crazy ridiculous interception). Stevens not only dropped like four crucial passes but once clearly ran the wrong route. We let a hole open up one time that allowed for a 75 yard run because the D-line clearly didn't meet their blocking assignments. That said, though, we still played a better game that Pitt. We simply couldn't overcome the bad calls. And even though they were bad calls and absolutely atrocious, we still should have capitalized on more opportunities and overcome them.

Finally, I have to say that really we all lose in this situation. Seattle fans are downright enraged and demoralized all at once. Pittsburgh's victory will forever be tainted as "the one the refs handed them" and they will have to listen to everyone tell them they didn't really win fair and square. And the rest of the country had to put up with a terrible game. Seattle (the actual team) has a lot to overcome to not carry a chip on their shoulder into next season. That said, however, I am so proud of them for carrying their heads high and not whining. Remember all the Joey Porter junk-talk after the Steelers flipped out and said that refs were trying to hand the game to Indianapolis? You won't see that from the 'Hawks. They won't sink to that level and our calls were far worse than the controversial Randle El call.

(Note: If I hear "one for the thumb" one more time I will seriously jump off a cliff. Has anyone else noticed that when Roethlisberger has a good game you don't hear about the thumb, but as soon as he does the typical "Big Ben Crumbling Under Pressure" bit it's because of his hurting thumb? Mmm-hmm. Worst winning quarterback rating EVER. So take that, you money-hungry, shaving- endorsement-craving sellout.)

So... I am such a tool, because this almost made me cry, but go check this out:

Why the Seahawks rock your face off

It's all about 12.

Seahawk love.

P.S. The Seahawks are far favored in the odds for next season over Pitt, sandwiched between #1 Indy and #3 Pats. Suck it, Steelers! So my top three fave teams are the top three favorites for next year, though I only like Indy because of David Letterman and Peyton Manning :)

But Indy is classy (usually, though Peyton let his mouth run a little this year post-Pitt loss) and I respect that. But I love the Pats and the 'Hawks, so I can't wait until August!!