Officiating Outrage

Suddenly people are mad about bad officiating in playoff games changing entire legacies of players and coaches? Drew Brees denied a possible 2nd title.

Like this is actually new?

Brett Favre retired with all the major.passing records, yet a reputation as a playoff choker. All because he threw an interception in the Superdome, a play that never should have taken place, cause if the refs do their job on that dark day the Vikings, for all their mistakes, have already won that game.

Tom Brady's entire career has been aided by bad officiating. The tuck rule game started the whole thing. Call that play correctly, and the Rams probably win a 2nd super bowl. Hell  that franchise might still be in St. Louis.

These blown calls didn't just start mattering yesterday. Given the single game elimination setup, the scarcity of games overall, football is the pro sport most impacted by blown calls. One play can swing games, swing careers. Andy Reid has toiled for 20 years as a head coach, and would be in the super bowl right now if not for the refs. Not winning a super bowl could keep Reid out of the hall of fame.

Go back to 2009. Imagine how things could have changed if that game had been officiated properly. Brett Favre takes the Vikings to the super bowl, and more than likely wins. He retires then and there, having capped one of the most historically significant seasons anyone has ever seen. He becomes the 1st QB to win super bowls with 2 teams(later to be joined by Manning). Brad Childress sure as hell doesn't get fired the next year. He's a hero for winning us a super bowl. The team likely falls off without Favre, and maybe even ends up having largely a similar last 8 years, but who knows. Adrian Peterson's status is only emboldened with a super bowl ring. Hell, we probably even get the new stadium a few years earlier.

Sean Payton still gets busted for Bountygate, but without a super bowl title to protect him, becomes persona non grata in the NFL. Drew Brees becomes this generation's Dan Marino.

That game is just one. The butterfly effect of bad officiating is an almost yearly event. And the NFL could have fixed this ages ago. Hell, they could fix it before the super bowl. They altered the catch rules before the super bowl last year, and didn't tell anybody. But we all know that nobody in charge cares about the integrity of the results.

This super bowl will, like them all, be about legacies. What if the Patriots lose back to back? Suddenly the so-called greatest dynasty ever is a mere 5-4 in super bowls. And would be damn close to being 1-8 if you look at the games. Maybe if they win these fuckers Brady and Belichick decide to hang em up. I doubt it, but it's possible. Frankly, I would want them to win if it guaranteed a dual retirement.
A Rams win would announce them as maybe the next potential dynasty. McVay immediately becomes a legend. Goff completely justifies his #1 pick. Hell, Los Angeles football is fully back at that point.
A bad call, or many, can decide which way the game goes. And yeah, bad calls are overwhelmingly more likely to aid the Patriots.

It seems like destiny to have this season ultimately decided by a blown call.