Ahhh, after two weeks of waiting, the big game is finally here. Make sure you enjoy the day safely and sanely.
I'll be back after the game tonight. See you then.
POSTGAME UPDATE: Well, some thoughts:
1) I wonder if anyone will be sitting next to Seahawks placekicker Josh Brown on the jet back to Seattle?
2) While the refs didn't job the Seahawks, they didn't get any breaks either. The offensive pass interference penalty on Darrell Jackson that nullified a touchdown was a ridiculous call.
If you watch the replay closely on Ben Roethlisberger touchdown, you'll notice that the ref doesn't signal a TD until the QB was already down, and simply wiggled over the goal line. While you could make the case that Roethlisberger had broken the plane of the goal line before he went down, the evidence wasn't exactly decisive.
And I have to admit some ignorance on one item, so I'll throw it open to the readers. On one Matt Hasselbeck to Jackson pass attempt, I clearly saw Jackson get one foot in bounds, and his second foot hit the pylon. And from what I understand, the pylon is considered to be in bounds. Why wasn't that a TD?
3) Congratulations to Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren, who essentially punted the game away with a little more than six minutes remaining while still needing two posessions to tie the game. At that point, Seattle should have been in four down territory.
4) When Seattle did finally get the ball back, it was clear their only hope was two quick scores with a successful recovery of an onsides kick in between. A slim hope yes, but hope nonetheless. But with 27 seconds remaining on the Steelers 26 and the clock stopped, the Seahawks opted for another play from scrimmage instead of the 43 yard field goal attempt.
The result, completion, clock keeps running, Seattle forced to go back to scrimmage and turn the ball over on downs. It was decision-making eerily reminiscent of Holmgren's play calling at the end of Super Bowl XXXII, when Holmgren told his defense to let Denver get the winning touchdown in order to preserve time on the clock for one more drive.
5) Did you know Jerome Bettis was from Detroit? I didn't figure it out until the 3rd quarter...
6) If I told you before the game that Roethlisberger would throw more interceptions and fewer touchdown passes than Hasselbeck, would you have believed me? Would you have still expected Pittsburgh to win?
7) Hope you took my advice a few days back.
The Jackson thing: In my semi-drunken state (already) my argument was that you need to get two feet down on the field in bounds. While the pylon helps let you know if someone already in possession of the ball crossed the goal line before he went out of bounds, it is most definitely not part of the ground, so if Jackson’s second foot hit it but came down out of bounds, no catch.
I had no explanation whatsoever for the offensive pass interference call, and it had nothing to do with it being too early to be semi-drunken yet. To me, anything that looks less like offensive pass interference than that call in overtime that saved Ohio State in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl is not pass interference, but maybe that’s just my way to order my universe, and not a hard and fast rule.
It seemed to me Holmgren at the end of the game was falling on his sword so no one would seriously be able to blame Brown or the officials. Not really, but man, some positively Cowheresque playoff coaching decisions there. I guess I can’t use that word that way anymore.
In the one official’s defense, he did immediately call half a touchdown on the Roethlisberger play. And heck, Roethlisberger threw more interceptions and fewer TD passes than Antwaan Randle El. In all seriousness, I haven’t thought it through yet, but it will probably be difficult to remember a Super Bowl win behind that inept a quarterbacking performance.
One bad call I haven’t seen mentioned went Seattle’s way: I don’t remember the Seattle receiver, but he fumbled the ball after he was hit. The official on the play ruled it a no-catch, which was good for Seattle because the Steelers were the only players who could have recovered the ball (they stopped pursuit after the whistle was blown). Replays showed the receiver got both feet on the ground and had tucked the ball away before his arm was hit by a helmet and the ball knocked loose. IIRC, that was pretty much the first blown call; all of the other bad calls went Pittsburgh’s way.
Worst thing about it all: The Penguins fans at MCI on Saturday will prove they *can* be more obnoxious than usual.