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Next year tell Jeremy Stevens to remember how to catch, run some 2 minute drills, and make sure your kicker doesn't up.
Fans welcome Seahawks home, blame refs for lossAssociated Press
SEATTLE -- Despite the Seahawks' disappointing Super Bowl loss, thousands of Seattle fans showed up Monday at Qwest Field to welcome the players home and congratulate them on their season.
Coach Mike Holmgren told the homecoming crowd that some of the officials' calls from Sunday's 21-10 loss still rankled.
"We knew it was going to be tough going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers," Holmgren said. "I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well."
The fans roared their agreement.
"Refs suck!" they shouted in unison.
The focus of the fans' rage, a day after their team lost in Seattle's first trip to the Super Bowl, included a Darrell Jackson touchdown catch that was taken away by a penalty and a disputed TD run by Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger.
One call robbed the Seahawks of a touchdown; the other gave the Steelers a touchdown.
"The officiating left a lot to be desired," said Dale Baxman, a fan who took a half-day off work to attend the rally.
Vicky Phillips, another fan, was more direct.
"I think we need new refs," she said.
But more than griping about the officials, the fans, collectively referred to as the team's "12th Man," turned out to thank their team.
"I'm here to support them, let them know it's all right," said Tracy Rogers of Seattle, who called in sick -- brokenhearted, really -- to join the crowd. The Seahawks estimated attendance at about 15,000 although other observers thought the crowd was smaller.
Teenagers Malissa Dunn, Nickey Horgan and Gena Copley took a parents-sanctioned day off from school to paint their faces blue and green and score a front-row seat.
"We won in our hearts," said Horgan, 15. "We're still No. 1."
Gov. Chris Gregoire, who traveled to Detroit to watch the game, told fans to be proud of the team that won the NFC Championship, has the league MVP in Shaun Alexander and boasts seven Pro Bowlers.
Holmgren and other team officials praised the raucous legion of fans who are known for raising the decibel level in Qwest Field to among the loudest in the NFL.
"We just want to thank you for sticking with us all season," he said.
The entire Seahawks squad took the stage under an unusually sunny Seattle sky.
"I just want to thank you for your unwavering support," linebacker Lofa Tatupu said.
Alexander drew cheers -- and perhaps raised hopes -- with his comments about next year's Super Bowl XLI in sunny Florida. The star running back's contract is expiring and, if the team doesn't re-sign him before March 3, he will become one of the league's most coveted free agents.
"Next year, our last game of the season will be a win in Miami," he told the crowd.
Next year tell Jeremy Stevens to remember how to catch, run some 2 minute drills, and make sure your kicker doesn't up.
I wonder those who are complaining lost money on the game?
Sour grapes, sour grapes... No matter how bad he thought his team got robbed, he should have enough class not to publically whine about it. I guess it's not just the Seattle fans who are classless...
Not in my case. I didn't even bet on the game. As I said in the other thread, I was pulling for the Steelers. But I couldn't help but feel as though I'd been cheated out of a good game, and forced to endure a boring one. Guys like me would rather see games that aren't so drastically affected by the officiating. You know...pure football. Not this boring, wussified crap that the league is turning into. I just can't believe there are so many people bending over and taking it. Correction. Not only taking it, but also defending it.
I am not a really a football fan but I told a guy that I watched the game with that they do not even let them play football anymore
i agree with those who say the refs significantly hurt Seattle, although it's not clear that they cost them the game.
However, Holmgren should have had the good sense to realize he had the overwhelming preponderance of unbiased fans on his side, and kept his mouth shut. Now he looks like an ass.
He doesn't look like an ass to Seattle fans and that's really all he cares about at the moment.
Holmgren has an easy way to not look like a loser for choking his way through the biggest game of the year by deflecting the blame. If he didn't have something to blame, he'd be looking for a job. This is the guy who said he didn't like trash talk because it "cheapens the game". What about crying like a little pudgy in front of your crybaby loser fans in their crybaby loser town? Holmgren is overrated, a bad sport and is therefore in the perfect city.
I think he just got caught in the moment.
Hussker that is priceless
you funny mofo.
Seperated at birth???
Concur. The majority of Football fans were in his corner. No need to spout off and look foolish.
Bottom line. Hopefully the NFL takes more of a "let them play" stance in big games such as these from now on. You have to let them play if you honetlty care about establishing a clear-cut champion. I'll take missed penalties over trigger happy refs anyday. It keeps the game so much more pure and enjoyable.
One thing is for damn sure. I can't wait for some of these same people to start "whining" about the refs in the upcoming NBA playoffs. It's going to be a lot of fun throwing some of their hardline, anti-whiner ideals right back in their faces.
Last edited by IceColdBrewski; 02-08-2006 at 12:24 AM.
Yeah they did that, and the Colts and their fans cried that the Pats were cheating.
I don't understand why everyone's crying now, the officiating has been horrible all year...
Yeah, but then essentially everyone outside of Indy told them to shut up and toughen up.
In this case, almost everyone without a rooting interest thinks the refs spoiled the game.
They did listen, they put more of emphasis of contact down the field; in most cases, it meant more defensive penalties. This year, they put more of an emphasis on offensive PI, which is why the DJax penalty shouldn't surprise anyone.
By definition, they got the calls right. The problem with the officiating in the NFL is consistency...
Yes, you're right about the rule changes. I had forgotten about that.
But I don't think there was a lot of expressed public opinion that the Colts had gotten jobbed.
The entire NFL playoffs were poorly officiated.
And yeah, you won't hear a firestorm of controversy over the Colts getting jobbed, unless they got jobbed cus Peyton Manning is their QB.
The of it is that he probably didn't need to push the guy, but he did. That was interference, and they got it right. All the other is just ing. Usc didn't lose to Texas, and now the Steelers didn't earn their championship. Why can't anyone lose with pride this year.
In any Championship compe ion the referees are expected to be a Non Factor...During the not so Super Bowl there were several calls that cheated the Seahawks... The actual score would have been much different if the referees had not helped Pittsburgh along the way... Let’s take a look:
• Ben Rothlisberger ... dives for the end zone and does not make it in. The ball never crossed the plane of the goal line and the refs even reviewed it. Ray Charles could have seen that the only time the ball was over the line was when Ben pushed it there after he was down. They called it a touchdown....
• Seattle throws a touchdown and it is called back because of pass interference when the replay clearly shows that the Pittsburgh defender made contact (by grabbing at the arm of the receiver) and not the other way around. The push off came after the defensive pass interference...
• Seattle drives down and completes a pass at the 1 yd line. The play is called back for holding. The replay shows no holding and Madden even said there was no hold. The play could have led to Seattle taking the lead.....
• Seattle throws an interception and on the return the quarterback tackles the man with the ball by hitting him below the waist. That is a legal tackle and blocking below the waist is only a penalty if the man does not have the ball. Add 15 yds to Pittsburgh giving them a shorter field...
The only legitimate score the Steelers had was the 75 yd run by Parker... Every other score came after a bad call...
Maybe there should be an asterisk next to this one…
that's what killed them in the end.
Hey, nobody rigs anything but me!
God Bless America.
If it had been conclusively not a touchdown, the review would have reversed the call. You can't say with any degree of certainty based upon the replay that it WASN'T a touchdown. I agree that it probably wasn't, but the responsibility goes to the line judge, and he had the best angle and made the call. Again, if it had been obvious that he had NOT scored it would have been reversed.
Unless you are suggesting that the defender hit Jackson's hand with his chest, replay clearly shows Jackson pushing off to get in position to make the catch. By rule Offensive Pass Interference is defined as "Initiating contact with a defender by shoving or pushing off thus creating a separation in an attempt to catch a pass." That's what he did. In addition, Incidental contact is defined as contact "by a defender’s hands, arms, or body when both players are competing for the ball, or neither player is looking for the ball." Further, the rule states "If there is any question whether contact is incidental, the ruling shall be no interference." Incidental contact is not pass interference.
The hold is visible in the replay but it's not a great angle. The rulebook defines Holding as 1. Hand(s) or arm(s) that encircle a defender—i.e., hook an opponent or 2. Using hands or arms to obstruct an opponent by grasping with hands, pushing, or encircling any part of his body during a block.
The hook would have been enough, even if he hadn't grasped the jersey. He did both. Pick one, they are both illegal.
The tackle was legal. The call was for contact against the blocker. There was one on either side of the runner. If Hasselbeck made contact with either of them it's an illegal block, and the officials might have leeway to make the call on anything they deem dangerous, regardless of whether contact is made. Irrespective of that, it has nothing to do with whether or not he made a successful tackle. You can't go through one guy's knees to get to the runner.
So since the Ward touchdown didn't come immediately after a bad call it doesn't count either, huh? Actually, the 75 yard run came in the second half, and the pass interference call was in the first half. By your logic, that one shouldn't have counted either.
Congratulations, Seahawks. You beat the Steelers 17-0. You don't need Disneyworld because you are already in la la land.
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