[DrCool]

Yes, the Pittsburgh Steelers outscored the Seattle Seahawks and are now in possession of the Lombardi Trophy. Congratulations to Pittsburgh and all the Steeler fans. Unfortunatly there will always be an air of controversy hovering over this Super Bowl the likes of which haven't been seen in the history of the big game.

Like it or not the referees had a big impact on the outcome of the game. From bad calls to missed calls to one sided calls to misinterpretation of the rules this crew of officials just flat out didn't do their job.

Example: Look at the "hold" that was called on Locklear. By the letter of the law maybe that might be able to be construed as holding but there were also over 20 other instances of "holding" that were as bad or worse than what Locklear did that weren't called including 2 possible holds on Willie Parker's long run.

Example: Did Darrell Jackson extend his arm into the chest of the defender? Yes. Did it give him an advantage (according to the rules a pass interference infraction must give an advantage)? Nope. Was the defender touching Jackson before the alleged push? Yep. Illegal contact.

Example: Right before Hasselbecks interception Shaun Alexander was tackled by Joey Porter in what sure looked like a horse collar tackle. I can't remember this penalty being called all year but by the letter of the law it was a penalty and would have given the Hawks first down at the 12 yard line instead of 3rd and 20something.

Example: On the Roethlisberger-Ward pass that set up their first TD there were 2 offensive linemen past the line of scrimmage. Were they way past it? Nope but they were over the line and it should have resulted in a penalty assuming the refs were calling the game as closely for the Steelers as they were for the Hawks.

I could go on and on but you get the idea.

The crazy thing is even with being put in all those tough situations by the refs the Seahawks still could have and should have won that game. They could have made more plays, run better 2 minute drills, Stevens could have caught a couple more balls, etc. but in many cases they shouldn't have had to make those plays. If the refs called the game fairly the Hawks would have probably won easily.

I haven't even started to go into the general bias shown towards the Steelers by the media and even by the NFL at the stadium. That is for later.

At least I can rest in the fact that the Seahawks will be back at the Super Bowl in Miami next year, the Steelers will be sitting at home, and Roethlisberger will be giving Bettis a back massage up on Brokeback Mountain.

[GigEmAgs]

Looks like Pittsburgh's gonna go through the same crap Dallas went through when the Stars won the Stanley Cup a few years back. Another game, I hate to admit, that was won (or lost, depending on your perspective) due to the officiating. (Different sport, yes, but a similar outcome!) Buffalo never really admitted they lost, and neither will Seattle. I have to admit a bias for Seattle -- one of my distant relatives used to play for them -- but the game is over and XL will go down in history as yet another Steelers win. We'll see how it goes next year.

[Lefty Noob]

Face it, this is just like the tuck rule game -- sure, bad calls were made, but its up to the team to overcome them, and as you point out there were plenty of opportunities for the team to do just that. But they didn't get it done, just like the Raiders weren't able to stop the Patriots one either one of the two field-goal drives that followed the non-fumble.

Will Seattle really be able to make the Super Bowl next year? First things first, they better resign Alexander. Hutchinson's a free agent too, is he not? Somebody's going to throw a lot of money his way, I'd bet.