Was it INCOMPETENCE or was it PERSONAL BIAS??

[The Gr8est]

This really is a relevant and important topic and I'm glad it is being discussed in so many different places in the United States. NFL fans have been almost universal in their outrage of this post season's officiating...and it WILL BE universal once the Steelers fans wake up and realize what could have been a satisfying win for them has been forever tarnished...and it isn't their fault.

If this discussion makes your eyes glaze over, then so be it, this is important.

Makes you think long and hard about past Superbowls, and, unfortunately ours as well.

I don't think the Pats winning was what the league wanted in Superbowl XXXVI, BB was just a failed coach, Tom Brady was a rookie playing over his head, and Adam Vinatieri was just a good kicker. Except for the clock expiring on the winning FG I don't think there is much evidence that the league did anything to help the Pats win. Really, I think the league wanted the "Greatest Show on Turf" to win.

The Pats winning was a great story line in how they did it, and anyone who watched it knows the league is not capabe of orchestrating THAT kind of a performance. The Pats had an incredibly fortunate year...from Brady's fumbles bouncing right back to him, to an unconscious David Patten's head being out of bounds which allowed the ball laying against his leg to be a recovered fumble, everything went our way. We were good too, but the good fortune was uncanny.

Maybe if the Pats winning after 911 wasn't such a good story line a few more "breaks" would have gone the Rams' way.

But SuperBowl XXXVI may have been the exception that proves the rule, and you have to wonder just how long this has been going on. I don't think the NFL was thrilled about the idea of the Pats winning the SB in 1976 with their horrid history, and Ben Dreith was just making sure when he called his infamous "roughing the passer" penalty. It was so long ago that I don't remember all of the details, but I DO remember that that was hardly the only outrage in that game. The Pats were irate with the refs for all they were allowing the Raiders to get away with all game.

The Pats wouldn't have had the marketing appeal nationally that the "storied" Raiders had.

This year, given the easy schedule, and how the games were arranged, such as the Indy-Pats gave being surrounded by a bye and two games versus Houston, the NFL appears to have given Indy every chance to win it. In contrast the Patriots had an incredibly tough schedule made even tougher by putting all of our tough games right together with most being on the road.

Pittsburgh messed up the NFL's plans by beating Indy despite the officiating, and the Pats ALMOST overcame incredible odds to make it this year.

Once Indy was out, Pittsburgh story became the most appealing, and most marketable, and thus we we got Superbowl X "F" L.

I REALLY, REALLY hope my suspicians are not founded but there sure is a lot of smoke, and where there's smoke....

 

[MDPATSFAN]

As a fan I hope it's not true. My gut gives me a sickening feeling that it is.

 

[mtbykr]

Conspiracy Theory!

I know it's far fetched. However ever since all the bad calls this year everyone is yelling for the officials to be a full time gig! So I wonder if the officials did this on purpose to get the pressure on the NFL so they can get it to be a full-time gig?

Just wondering!

 

[OldEnglandPatriot]

Incompetence or bias

The original question was: 'is it incompetence or bias?' (that has caused so much horrinly one-sided officiating during the playoffs).

My take on it is this: While I woudn't rule out league-guided bias, I believe that it is most likely unconscious bias.

Various factors before a game often create a team that is 'supposed' to win; either they are clearly superior, or they are at home with a rabid crowd, or they are media darlings, or some combination of the three.

Officials have this lodged in their mind just like everybody else, and it literally (but subconsciously) influences what they see - or what they think they see, which is just as important. What a person EXPECTS to see (namely, team A winning, scoring, and team B losing and committing fouls to make up for their inferiority) has a huge influence on what they actually percieve.

NB: I have never forgotten a powerful example of this from a soccer match. 'Steve' played for a nice, popular team. 'Tony' played for an unpopular team widely considered to be 'dirty'.

'Steve' got injured in a tangle with 'Tony' and newspaper reporters all wrote the next day about how Tony had made a terrible tackle/lunge to injure him. Yet TV pictures showed that in fact Tony had been in possession of the ball and Steve had lunged in on HIM, injuring himself in the process. To me, it was a classic example of how our preconceptions can completely alter our percpetion of an event.

 

[sieglo]

The original question was: 'is it incompetence or bias?' (that has caused so much horrinly one-sided officiating during the playoffs).

My take on it is this: While I woudn't rule out league-guided bias, I believe that it is most likely unconscious bias.

Various factors before a game often create a team that is 'supposed' to win; either they are clearly superior, or they are at home with a rabid crowd, or they are media darlings, or some combination of the three.

Officials have this lodged in their mind just like everybody else, and it literally (but subconsciously) influences what they see - or what they think they see, which is just as important. What a person EXPECTS to see (namely, team A winning, scoring, and team B losing and committing fouls to make up for their inferiority) has a huge influence on what they actually percieve.

NB: I have never forgotten a powerful example of this from a soccer match. 'Steve' played for a nice, popular team. 'Tony' played for an unpopular team widely considered to be 'dirty'.

'Steve' got injured in a tangle with 'Tony' and newspaper reporters all wrote the next day about how Tony had made a terrible tackle/lunge to injure him. Yet TV pictures showed that in fact Tony had been in possession of the ball and Steve had lunged in on HIM, injuring himself in the process. To me, it was a classic example of how our preconceptions can completely alter our percpetion of an event.

Excellent point. We should sequester the officials for the two weeks prior to the Super Bowl. Or better yet, for the entire playoffs.