Ratbutt

[judecorp]

I suppose it had to happen sometime. I really was okay with the idea of being the Ratbutt¹ because I knew the Steelers were favored to win. I had friends who were very passionate on both sides, but when it was my turn to choose teams, I chose the Seahawks for volumeat11 because he'd just trekked out to Seattle for his 30th. (Sorry, kungfoogirl!)

It actually would have been a much closer game than I'd anticipated if the Steelers weren't a bunch of big cheaty cheaters. What was up with that first touchdown of theirs, the one that was about one yard away from the line but then he moved his arm after he hit the ground and stuck it out there? And then the replay judges saw the all-angles tape and /still/ decided that was in? Good gravy, whose payroll were they on?

And how about the fact that the referrees called 8783467863872617814 flags on Seattle but, like, NONE on Pittsburgh? What was that all about?

I'll wear my Ratbutt name with pride this year, because I'd rather be a Ratbutt than a stinky cheater!

Also, the commercials were incredibly disappointing this year. I liked the 'revolving door and magical fridge' Bud Light ad. And I liked the Ameriquest one with the dead fly. And of course I loved the Emerald Nuts one. But otherwise? Naah.

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¹Every year, Guy and I pick Superbowl teams to win. The winner gets to call the loser "Ratbutt" for a whole year. (This doesn't matter as much now as we don't communicate as much as we used to, but still.) We've done this for 8 years, and though I don't follow football AT ALL, and though we take turns getting first pick of teams, I've never lost until tonight. It started as his ploy to get me to watch the Superbowl, because he is a HUGE football fan. It's always been our little "thing."

Comments

[antipixie-karee.livejournal.com]

And then the replay judges saw the all-angles tape and /still/ decided that was in?

I saw the same crap as you. They totally cheated.

If it makes you feel better, I thought the Seahawks would win too. Sorry you're a Ratbutt.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I didn't think the Seahawks would win, but I chose them in honor of my friend, Jeff, who just loves the Seahawks so much he would make out with the whole team in a heartbeat if his wife would let him. (And I think she would, for the photo ops.)

But I was /floored/ by that one call. Floored! Shocked! So shocked!

[kungfoogirl.livejournal.com]

I'm required by Pittsburgh law to be a Steelers fan.

=)

Sorry you're ratbutt.

[cfred.livejournal.com]

But do you get tomorrow as a legal holiday on account of that?

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Eh, I forgive you. ;)

[cfred.livejournal.com]

What was up with that first touchdown of theirs, the one that was about one yard away from the line but then he moved his arm after he hit the ground and stuck it out there? And then the replay judges saw the all-angles tape and /still/ decided that was in?

First, the call itself: I'm not sure that at live-speed I wouldn't have called that a touchdown. As Big Ben was falling down, his elbow, with the ball tucked under it, appears to have just scraped the goal line. I'm not sure it was conclusive enough to overturn a short spot and pay the touchdown, but there was no way I could rule him short of the goal line on the replay.

As for the line judge's mechanics, he got a major ding on that play in my book. Thou shalt not go up with one hand followed by the other on a touchdown signal. Even if you're using a finger whistle, finish blowing or take it off your fingers and blow while going up with both arms at the same time. I would get my butt chewed by an evaluator if I did that in high school, because it looks like you're going, "He's short...no, wait, he's in after all." (It's things like that and timeouts that are why I always wear a whistle on a neck lanyard, even though I prefer the finger whistle, so I can have both arms free when the signal calls for two arms.)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

So... as a referee, how would YOU have scored that play? On viewing the replay, I mean.

I know so little of the rules of football, so feel free to talk to me as dumbly as possible. Were the Seahawks really flag-worthy all of those times, or were things as skewed as I perceived them?

[cfred.livejournal.com]

That's why I said I wanted to see the goal-line shot at real speed. I don't get replay or slow-motion in a game, so that's the only way I can call it. I think I'd have called it a touchdown, because of how the ball was cradled against his elbow.

I don't think the replay was conclusive in either direction. It wasn't 100% clearly a touchdown, and he wasn't 100% clearly short. For a replay to overturn what is called on the field, it has to be conclusive.

I do think that Seattle got called for a lot of "ticky-tack" fouls, while Pittsburgh was not getting called for anything at the equivalently tight level. However, I can't think of anything that stood out as me that should have been called against Pittsburgh but wasn't.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Dude, you're SO not helping me. ;)

[cfred.livejournal.com]

I think the answer you want is what I told my coworker, then:

Good call, but the mechanics sucked.

Yes, it was a touchdown.

[amyura.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the revolving door one was about the only one I liked. I did think the sheep streaker was pretty cute, too.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, that one was so cute, too!