nugsfan said:
I too feel sick and I am not even a Seattle fan! Heres the thing, I could watch an NFL game between any two teams, I love football, and the great thing about the NFL is that every team has a chance to come out on top, well if they take that away then what interest is left? They took that away last night and for the first time in 30yrs I am not looking forward to next season because I feel robbed and betrayed as a fan of the sport.
And think how you'll feel if they don't get this mess fixed and next year it costs your team a trip to or god forbid a World Championship in the Superbowl.
I don't think there is conscious effort on the part of the NFL to rig the outcome of these games. But I do think that subconsciously these officials, who are part time weekend warrior employees who get to rub shoulders with and get on a first name basis with football megastar players and coaches, feel some pressure to be mindful of the story lines the media spins ad nauseum in the run up to each of these big games. And like civil servants or union employees who are difficult to get rid of under all but the most egregious of circumstances, they develop a go along to get along mentality.
Last night for whatever reason the game was not unfolding as anticipated. Seattle, perceived as the softer untested NFC entrant, while havng difficulty putting points on the board, was surprisingly having it's way with a percieved AFC iron team who seemed just lost. In fact they appeared to be on the verge of trouncing the AFC team more than once (very reminicent of the Pats Denver game) if not for their own unforced errors. This was certainly not the anticipated unfolding that had been spun for two weeks by a media that all to often bases it's spin on their most desirable story line (6th seed, road warriors, scortched earth defense, retiring HOF RB, youngest QB who had suddenly blossomed, 14 year winless coach, one for the thumb....)
I believe as a result the part time weekend employees on the field succombed to an unconscious desire to buy time for the universe to right itself - to at least give the pre-determined storyline a shot at unfolding. Seattle still had a shot in spite of the officials, as we did in Denver, but they were going to make that shot an uphill climb so that the Stillers - who were clearly underperforming, would still have one.