Blowing the Super Bowl

To borrow an oft-used phrase these days, I didn't have a horse in this race. I'm a Patriots fan and watched the game with other Pats fans. But given our team's rather one-sided head-to-head rivalry with the cocky, self-entitled Steelers, we were certainly pulling for the underdog Cards to upset.

I didn't let that cloud my objectivity however. On the trip down to Boston one of my buddies asked how I thought the game would unfold. I responded that while Warner was turnover prone, if Arizona limited their mistakes offensively they should have been able to keep pace score-wise. As it was they committed two turnovers (more on that later) and still only lost by four, which was three points closer than the margin of victory I predicted for Pittsburgh.

I only wish the NFL made the Steelers earn it.

Last night's officiating was the worst for a championship since Super Bowl XL. For those who have trouble matching letters-as-numbers to actual game events, that was the one where a long-moribund franchise (Seattle) got screwed to Pittsburgh's benefit. Sound familiar?

On every borderline call the referees gave the Steelers the benefit of the doubt while saddling the Cardinals with the burden of proof, as evidenced by the latter twice challenging successfully:

• The ball never broke the plane on Roethlisberger's goal line run (initially ruled a TD);
• Warner wasn't even close to fumbling on the Cardinals second half opening possession.
  

Other officiating miscues (in chronological order) included:

• Harrison's TAINT (TD after the interception, kudos to Simmons et. al). - Warner was clearly held trying to make a tackle on the return. Also, Pittsburgh may have jumped offsides before the play. Arizona should have entered the locker room with a lead (perhaps by an even greater margin);
  

The three personal foul calls against Arizona's defense on Pittsburgh's 3rd quarter field goal drive:

1. Rodgers-Cromartie's Face Mask - He had hold of Holme's crossbar for all of a half-second: no twisting whatsoever. In previous years this certainly would have been of the 5 yard variety. Rules are rules however, and Rodger-Cromarties was guilty by the strictest interpretation. Why then was Holmes able to get away with illegal use of hands to Rodgers-Cromartie's face on the same play? At worst both should have been called, the penalties offset, and the down replayed.
2. Dansby's Roughing the Passer - Apologies to Penn, Pitt, Langella and Rourke; the Academy Award for Best Actor this year goes to Ben Roethlisberger. He'd been avoiding the rush all game by scrambling, pump-faking, you name it. This time he threw the ball away, Dansby took one momentum-induced step to deliver a shove, 'Ben' took a soccer/European basketball-worthy flop, and the terrible towels (er, yellow flags) went flying. So just to clarify: this is illegal, but diving for a quarterback's legs and snapping them in half (see Brady, Thomas and Palmer, Carson) is allowed. Got it.
3. Wilson's Unnecessary Roughness - Blocked into the holder. Terrible.

For those scoring at home, that's three highly-debatable personal foul calls that gave Pittsburgh three first downs and 35 yards of field position. Fast forward to Arizona's final punt:

• Harrison's Unnecessary Roughness - A transgression far worse than anything the Cardinals were flagged for. And how were the Steelers punished? The punt stood (no first down for Arizona) and the half-the-distance resulted in a 1 yard penalty. While Arizona was able to force the safety, Harrison should have been ejected for his actions.
  
• Holme's Taunting - Not called for using the ball as a prop. Would have given Arizona 10 yards on the subsequent kickoff.
  

And last, but certainly not least:

• Warner's Fumble - Contrary to popular belief, the replay booth DID review Warner's 'fumble' at the end of regulation. Officiating head Mike Pieriea was also onhand to weigh in. Despite their diligence, both arrived at the wrong conclusion: Warner's arm was going forward (New England are better judges of this than anyone). Combined with Woodley's Unsportsmanlike Conduct, the Cards would have had at least one more (realistic) crack at the end zone.

The scoring flurry and lead changes at the conclusion of Super Bowl XLIII distracted viewers from a game-long series of injustices by the zebras, who should trade their uniforms in for a different set of stripes as far as I'm concerned.