Conspiracy Theorists Need to Get Real

Listen folks, I’m not saying that the refs called a great Super Bowl and that we should be praising the ground they walk on, but here’s the bottom line: Pittsburgh won the game.  They did it fair and square.First of all, I would like to state that I am an avid Patriots fan.  Although I did pick Pittsburgh to win the game, I didn’t have any money riding on that pick, so I have an unbiased opinion on this topic.

I’ll admit that it did seem as though Pittsburgh was getting a lot more attention from the media, ABC, and the NFL.  The photos shown after commercial breaks of players with the Lombardi Trophy was an example of this, as many of the photos were of Pittsburgh.  However, just because the Steelers got more attention does not make a conspiracy theory any more likely.  

It also needs to be realized that some of these calls were not as bad as they seem.  The pass interference call on Darrell Jackson was the right call.  Darrell Jackson clearly pushes off on the Pittsburgh cornerback.  It doesn’t matter how much force he put into this push.  When the referee sees the receiver extend his arm into the defender’s body and push him, the penalty needs to be called.  Also, there was no way the ref could overturn the Roethlisberger TD.  You cannot tell for sure whether or not the ball grazed the goal line.  Ben’s hand and arm are in the way, making it impossible to get conclusive evidence.  Another aspect of that is that the camera was not perfectly lined up with the goal line.  With the camera even a few inches to the left, you get a skewed view of the play, making it seem as though Ben wasn’t in the end zone when he might actually have been.  As for the questionable holding and cut block calls, those were completely based on judgment.  Had the refs had a chance to review the plays, they likely would’ve at least reversed the holding.  However, they don’t have the luxury of being able to watch slow-motion replays of every call and must make calls on the fly, sometimes going by gut instincts.

The basic fact of the matter is that Seattle played a terrible game.  Seattle got the chance to show the world that they did indeed deserve respect, but when the big game came, they dropped the ball, both literally and figuratively.  They were out-hustled and poorly coached.  They established something early in the short passing game and had they continued with that, I believe the outcome may have been different.  Instead, Holmgren and Hasselbeck kept trying new things and failing.  They were throwing long on 3rd down, and not relying on the running game.  Walter Jones was man-handling Joey Porter all game and Seattle could’ve used that to their advantage in the running game.

Ben Roethlisberger also played his worst game of the postseason, but he was able to manage the game very well and utilize his team’s other offensive weapons, keeping Pittsburgh on top.  This was something Hasselbeck was unable to do.

It is a shame that a very good team in the Pittsburgh Steelers can’t just enjoy their victory without controversy and talks of a conspiracy theory.  I don’t understand how anyone could say that Pittsburgh didn’t deserve to win this game.  They fought all season and all during the playoffs, and although they didn’t have their best game in the Super Bowl, they certainly wanted it more that Seattle.  It’s great that Jerome Bettis got to go out on top and this is arguably the best way any player has ever left his sport, regardless of how well Pittsburgh played in the Super Bowl.  

So let’s all suck it up and realize that Pittsburgh really did win the Super Bowl.  There was not a conspiracy theory.  Not even the NFL could be numb enough to not realize the major consequences that would come with getting caught fixing what is supposed to be the most anticipated game in any sport in America.  You can whine and moan all you want about how the refs stole the game from Seattle, but in the end, the team that made the least mistakes came away with the Lombardi Trophy.