Do you think XL could have been fixed like European soccer?

Naw. The NFL isn't nearly the money machine European soccer is. There's no way they'd rig the Super Bowl just for a couple more East Coast fans. Not a chance. Do you realize how much Seahawks merchandise they missed out on selling?

It's not rigging it for the fans, how about some important betters in Vegas who put some serious money down and decided to put down a little insurance on their bets payable to Leavy and his cronies.

Super Bowl XL is the reason why I could care less about the NFL and the other 31 teams in the league. I've been a diehard Seahawks fan my entire life, and that will never change, but that's where my allegiance lies. You might say that's ridiculous since they play in the NFL but that's my stance and it's never changing. Any good feelings I had towards the NFL died on that day.

Just noticed that they just posted that sham of a game on Youtube in it's entirety just yesterday. I don't think I have the heart to watch it.

CaptainSkybeard":3i1ffjyg said:

It's not rigging it for the fans, how about some important betters in Vegas who put some serious money down and decided to put down a little insurance on their bets payable to Leavy and his cronies.

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Again, we can only speculate which doesn't get us anywhere. But, the ridiculousness of what everyone saw with that officiating SHOULD make one wonder that there was "pressure" put on someone in some fashion to shape the game. Money does funny things to people and there's a shady side to all of this that simple fans of the game would probably rather not want to hear about (not that anyone would hear anything.) Is it absurd to think that those involved in big money are powerful enough to at least try to "influence" a game?

NYCoug":1jgcqoxs said:

Super Bowl XL is the reason why I could care less about the NFL and the other 31 teams in the league. I've been a diehard Seahawks fan my entire life, and that will never change, but that's where my allegiance lies. You might say that's ridiculous since they play in the NFL but that's my stance and it's never changing. Any good feelings I had towards the NFL died on that day.

Just noticed that they just posted that sham of a game on Youtube in it's entirety just yesterday. I don't think I have the heart to watch it.

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I hear ya. Though perhaps I don't take quite as extreme a stance, my feelings toward the NFL definitely changed that day as well.

with the exception of games in Italy which are rigged by the teams themselves, most of these match-fixing games have come involving lower-league teams, or in the cases of some of the champions league games - eastern european teams where the majority of the players are making peanuts.

The match-fixing is typically done through the players than the refs who go or it for some extra cash, XL was incompetence and nothing more. Stop looking for the bigger conspiracy. Incompetent refs all err on the side of the favourite/home team (Steelers certainly had more of the support that day), that's why you'll always seen Man Utd get the decisions in their favour in England

I don't necessarily think the game was rigged. I don't even care. The bottom line is that it was incompetence of the worst degree on the largest stage. I'm sure Bill Leavy and his crew heard all the heroic Jerome Bettis and Bill Cowher stories of them riding off into the sunset and I'm sure to some degree that had an effect on how they officiated the game.

What bothers me is that the NFL allowed such a clearly incompetent crew to officiate such a massive game. It might've been "just another ring" for the Stealers but for the Hawks that game could've changed the entire outlook of the franchise. Now, I'm starting to get over it because I'm starting to realize that without XL maybe we don't have the current regime that we do now. But that's the only reason why I've been able to get over XL.

Ahh, that game was such a s*** show. It gets my blood boiling every time haha

There was certainly something wrong with Super Bowl XL. The least penalized team in the league s hit for 7 penalties for 70 yards? Pittsburgh had 3 penalties, 2 were procedure penalties which had to be called, all were 5 yard penalties and NONE for offensive holding?

Even the "push-off" in the end-zone on DJack.. REALLY? ANYONE who watched that play in its entirity could see the there was contact, from the DB downfield. So Jackson extends his arms, catches a TD pass, then the DB has a fit and a flag was thrown. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?!?!?!?! That really happened...

The Roethlisraper TD... OK, everyone wants to argue the whether the plane was crossed, but I choose to refer to the Tackle on Leroy Hill by Faneca. As Big Boner starts his run, Hill is poised to meet him on around the 7, maybe the 5 at best. Faneca literally tackles him.. OK, so we aren't going to be calling holding this game, fine.. But is that how it works out?

The Holding call... We had two Steeler fans in my living room watching that game, before Hasselbeck even threw the ball to Stevens (who was down on the 1 yard line) even THEY saw the offsides on Haggans. We all did. Not only did the officials NOT call it, but they called holding on the player blocking him!! We all know the deal, they can call holding on every play right? That wasn't holding. We know that, but the damage was done. That single call was the game, right there. It led to the following INT, which led to a 15 yard penalty, which put the Steelers in perfect position to throw the gadget bomb. It didn't matter, I knew that no matter what the Hawks did, if it threatened the game, it was going to be turned.

Dirty as it gets... Why? I choose to think that rather than the story of Bettis, the Vegas line or just plain Steeler franchise love to keep the national bandwagon happy, that it was a combination of those things and one fact. Regardless if the game was fixed or not, whether it was perfectly called and the Seahawks just lost, IF the Seahawks win that game, there is an amazing amount of money to be lost (or just not obtained) for the League. That is fact that cannot be argued. Did it mean it was fixed? We will never know, but it is true in any case. There are those that claim the Hawks could have won that game if they did XXXX better or made more plays. I disagree, the ONLY way that the Hawks win that game is if they have 7 turnovers for scores. Event then I wonder if the plays would get called back.

I don't care.. That time is done, it was obvious and it sucks. This team is different, the 2005 team was the pinnacle of the Holmy era Seahawks, the current team is just getting started and now the NFL has a darling in Seattle with RW. No stopping them now.

I don't know if XL was fixed for sure, but I wouldn't be shocked to find out it was. I remember watching it at a friends, and before half-time we were all thinking that the fix was in. I think one thing that sold me is the black and white pics of the players holding the Lombardi trophy, and that the Steeler pics vastly outnumbered Seahawks. I started to think then, that this was a story line like pro-wrestling. Seattle was the nameless foe in the way of Pittsburgh getting another ring.

I have believed since then that some games are not in complete control of the coaches or guys on the field.

Am I bitter? Yes. I waited my whole life for that game, and I feel like it was stolen. Am I over it? No. I just live with it now.

Damnit... rewatched it a bit on youtube... we did so many crappy things in that game. DJ Hackett should have caught the ball in the endzone. Clock management at the end of the 2nd half.... uuugh it was so baaaaad... And Hasselbecks interception was really really stupid, yes the call prior was horrible and frustration and what not, but we were well within field goal range, (yeah brown missed 2 but those were from faaar away) A field goal there makes it 14-13 with like 12 minutes left of the game. Best case we get the ball back down 1 point. Worst case we get it back down eight points (if the stealers would have scored there though, any smart coach should go for two to make it a 2 possession game, so i guess there is a slight chance we could have been down 9 at the worst POSSIBLE) Still, dont throw the damn interception and we have a 1 point game with 12 mins to go.


And yes, we STILL win this horrible game if the refs call it fair.

It's hard to blame incompetence vs fix when you watch the way some of the calls came out. Ref raising one hand signaling no td only to raise his other hand half way to the ball. Looked like he changed his mind. Why?

The clear offsides on Haggan's to suddenly change to holding and no clear view of when thw flag came out but a friend that was at the game said it came out to fast to be anything but thrown for offsides. Notuce no camera angle shows when the official actually pulled the flag. Kind of convenient.

We never got to see when the flag came out, but I knew Haggans was offsides at the snap. It was a free play, the Steeler fans at my house were bummed, they were saying that entire time that if the Hawks scored, it was over.

One thing is certain, the game dynamic changes drastically if the Hawks are up 17-14, kicking off and the Steelers starting around the 20, needing to score in a game they basically had one big run and a 3rd and 24 completion as their only big plays. Having a lead, with little time, from mid-field was the perfect time for their gadget play. The Hawks made mistakes, that is for sure, but the Steelers made more and didn't have to pay for it.

NYCoug":15v1uo78 said:

Super Bowl XL is the reason why I could care less about the NFL and the other 31 teams in the league. I've been a diehard Seahawks fan my entire life, and that will never change, but that's where my allegiance lies. You might say that's ridiculous since they play in the NFL but that's my stance and it's never changing. Any good feelings I had towards the NFL died on that day.

Just noticed that they just posted that sham of a game on Youtube in it's entirety just yesterday. I don't think I have the heart to watch it.

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This.

Seahwkgal":hdhvyad2 said:

Holy christ. How long has it been? 7 years? Time to get over XL. I have been over it for that long. Geez.

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Good gawd how I love it when people tell me how to feel! <sarcasm off>

I don't usually talk anymore about XL, as it's over and nothing is going to change the outcome. But what is very interesting to me is how every time I have spoken to a Steelers fan and we bring up Super Bowl games they never really want to talk about that game. They always love to talk about every other victory, but when it comes to XL, they just clam up or change the subject. I don't even tell them that I'm a major Seahawk fan, just that I love football and follow several teams.

So if many Steeler fans don't want to acknowledge their own victory, it has to make you wonder how the rest of the NFL fan base think about what happened that day. Just saying.

SalishHawkFan":13zft3io said:

Of course it was fixed! How can you even ask? there's a long history of fixed games in the NFL going back since its inception. Look it up sometime. Geez, people are so naive.

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I have watched SB XL and I must admit there were some crappy calls in that game, where I am sure if I was a Seahawk fan I would have broken something while watching it. The biggest game changing call was the rush by Roethlisberger for the TD that OBVIOUSLY never even broke the plane. And I imagine the apology from the ref years later was more of a slap in the face if anything.

Now question, how do you guys feel SB 47 was officiated? For a second please forget about the hate you have for the Niners and even imagine that it was the Seahawks on the field aginst the Ravens for a moment, as the game is over and nothing can change the outcome now. The holding non-call on the 108 yd kick off return, wich was obviously a game changer as we lost by only 3 points, and the lack of ejection of Cary Williams when he pushed an official about 3 yards away from the fight in the 2nd quarter which is an automatic ejection by the rule book. Do you guys think it was a well officiated game?

[Hate off]...........[Hate on]. You can use this template if needed.

I don't remember seeing a hold on the return, but I was very surprised when I thought I saw a Raven push a ref with no penalty. Something must have happened that changed the circumstance there. I liked that the refs let both teams play and kept the flags in their pockets for the most part. The problem was the first half for the niners, not the refs. They didn't play good enough football to get to point fingers, imo.

AbsolutNET":zw63vv2g said:

I don't remember seeing a hold on the return, but I was very surprised when I thought I saw a Raven push a ref with no penalty. Something must have happened that changed the circumstance there. I liked that the refs let both teams play and kept the flags in their pockets for the most part. The problem was the first half for the niners, not the refs. They didn't play good enough football to get to point fingers, imo.

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I have to concur. I have more issues with extraneous flags or ticky-tac flags during the big games than I do for the no-calls. I too was surprised though at the non-ejection. I thought for sure there would be something big there. I must say though, that if you are on the field playing in this game, and you watch the refs let THAT slide by, you have to realize EXACTLY how little the refs were going to call in this game.

AbsolutNET":2s3ztv3v said:

I don't remember seeing a hold on the return, but I was very surprised when I thought I saw a Raven push a ref with no penalty. Something must have happened that changed the circumstance there. I liked that the refs let both teams play and kept the flags in their pockets for the most part. The problem was the first half for the niners, not the refs. They didn't play good enough football to get to point fingers, imo.

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Ya I am not trying to make up for our lack of proficiency in the 1st half.

As far as the rule goes from my understanding, if a player puts his hand on a ref it is an automatic ejection and can't be changed by offsetting penalties.

I didn't see the hold on the return initially myself, but now there are vids all over the internet that show it blatantly that also shows that it was in plain sight of a ref.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv1v4CW-vKE

In the video you can see Bruce Miller getting "Sandwiched" by two Ravens. And as you can tell from his proximity to Jacoby Jones, the hole he ran through wouldn't have been there.

Either way, I just wanted to chime in and say that you guys did get robbed in SBXL in my opinion.

He was getting held by two Ravens, so they off-set.