Bob Smizik: Whines about Super Bowl officials made of sour grapes

Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Maybe you've heard this proverb:

"Winners celebrate; losers whine about the officiating."

But probably not, since I just made it up.

But, like any proverb, there is wisdom in these words in that they catch what has become the essence of American sporting competition: The home team never is beaten on the field, it's always robbed by the officiating.

The Steelers' victory against Seattle in the Super Bowl has spawned outrage over the officiating from supporters of the Seahawks and in the national media. Had the calls been against the Steelers, and had they cost the Steelers the game, the outrage would have been at least triple.

In fact, it was Steelers fans who were claiming there was an NFL conspiracy to stop their team after a playoff win against Indianapolis. Subsequent events have shown how utterly ridiculous those charges were and branded the people who were making them as -- there's no other word -- idiots.

We've all heard the charges that came out of the Super Bowl. The officiating crew, which is supposed to be the best the NFL has to offer, cost the Seahawks at least one touchdown and possibly two and gave the Steelers one. This is so, we're told, because the officials are too old and too slow and work only part time and because the NFL refuses to take advantage of technological breakthroughs that would simplify on-the-field decision-making.

This column has long championed the idea of full-time officials. It just makes sense that skills would be greater if they were developed on a full-time basis as opposed to part time. Granted, full time might be overkill but, in a billion dollar industry, that's better than risking incompetence. As for technological advances, bring them on.

But that's not the point here. The point is this: Officials are not robots. They are humans. Humans make mistakes.

Is Hines Ward too old and too slow? What about Ben Roethlisberger? Or Jerramy Stevens?

Ward dropped two passes in the Super Bowl, including one that would have gone for a touchdown. Roethlisberger, who was playing so well coming into the game he was being hailed as the NFL's next great quarterback, threw two interceptions and had a passer rating of 22.6. That number is well below the Kordell Stewart line. Stevens, a tight end for the Seahawks, dropped three passes.

Why aren't there charges that these players were attempting to influence the outcome of the game by their poor play?

Why haven't there been demands that the league provide better instruction for its players so these instances of shoddy play will disappear?

Why hasn't there been an investigation into the coaching practices that created such play?

None of this has happened because we identify with the players, particularly those on the home team, and are willing to forgive and because we understand that players are not perfect and will make mistakes. We refuse to grant the same leniency to the faceless officials, although we should.

Does anyone seriously think an NFL official would deliberately blow a call in the Super Bowl? If the official did, he would be reducing the chances of receiving such a plum assignment in the future, while at the same time making a fool of himself and risking unemployment.

As for at least two of the disputed calls in the game, they were absolutely correct.

In the first quarter, Seattle wide receiver Darrell Jackson was called for pass interference on Chris Hope on a play in which Jackson caught a touchdown pass. Although Jackson clearly made contact with Hope, it was viewed by many as incidental. It wasn't. Jackson used his arm to create separation between himself and Hope. This enabled him to break free of the defender and catch the ball. It was a penalty and deserved to be called.

On Roethlisberger's 1-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter, a play that Seattle challenged, video replays clearly showed the ball breaking the plane of the goal line. It was indisputable.

Despite that, Roethlisberger said on "Late Show with David Letterman" last night that he told a coach on the sideline during the replay "no" when asked if he thought he'd scored.

As for the few other disputed calls in the game, who knows? Maybe the officials were wrong.

Maybe they were right. But if they missed a few calls, even half a dozen, that's not bad -- that's good. Oh, that the players should perform at such a high level.

It's unfortunate that some Steelers fans have joined the crowd by protesting calls against their team and suggesting the margin of victory would have been even larger if the officiating had been better. All they're doing is cheapening the victory.

Hey, folks, you won. Enjoy.

As for the overall state of officiating, it deserves scrutiny from the league. It can be better and everything should be done to achieve that goal. But officials will never be perfect. They're humans, not robots -- just like the players.

(Post-Gazette sports columnist Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1468.)