Yesterday in Football

'Tis better for people to think you are a fool then for you to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

I usually don't write about football, but yesterday was completely ridiculous for two reasons. If you don't care about football, then don't read anymore unless you want to hear me rant. One, there was a call at the end of the Steelers game that caused an outcry, but not for the reason you probably think. Two, Donovan McNabb didn't know there was a possibility of a tie in pro football.

Let's take on McNabb first. The Eagles and Bengals, after a game that only can be described as deplorable, finished the game tied, went to overtime, and fittingly ended in a tie. After the game, McNabb, in front of everyone, said he didn't know a game could end in a tie. HOW THE HECK DON'T YOU KNOW THAT?!? It's one of the main differences between the pro game and the college game. He's been in the league for ten years, and he still doesn't know that. I'll slightly forgive rookie DeSean Jackson for not knowing, but I begrudingly do so. Do we really have to go back to elementary and high school where we have to read the handbook and sign it saying we understand all of it? In the end, I do credit to Andy Reid for accepting the blame because it is his fault. He should have been saying, "Alright, fifteen more minutes. Let's go win it for the gipper," or something to that effect. I mean, this is ridiculous. I guess this is another reason why baseball is better. Games can't end in ties (oh ...).

Next, the Steelers played the Chargers in a pretty hapless but much better played game. At the end, the Chargers were down one and were taking the kickoff. In a series of laterals, Troy Polamalu, the Steelers' safety, knocked the ball down and ran it into the end zone for a touchdown. But wait a minute. One of the laterals was an illegal forward pass, and therefore, there was a penalty. Initially, the referees, correctly, called the penalty but said the penalty was declined. I jumped for joy. I don't like the Steelers, per se, but they are my fantasy defense. I was down by one, but after they scored the touchdown (special teams touchdowns count in defense, too), I was up by six. Then, chaos ensues. The two teams line up for the extra point before the referees blow it dead. Everyone looks around, puzzled. The referees confer and decide that the forward pass means that the play was dead and the touchdown doesn't count. I was pissed, not because they were now screwing up (I didn't really understand the rule, either), because now I was losing in my fantasy league. I have lost two straight weeks when my team scored 100+ points, and I was not in the mood for it to happen again. In the end after a review and more confusion, the referees decided the touchdown didn't count and the game was over. Luckily, I have one more player left tonight (Jamal Lewis) who should be able to get 2 points, so I'm not too worried. I actually went to bed happy. Well, when I woke up this morning, people are outraged because of this. Now, I understand the "let's get it right" principle, but this didn't even impact the game, at all, not one iota, not one damn bit, not for one lousy, freakin' second. The Steelers win with or without the last touchdown. I guarantee you that 20% of viewers actually knew the correct rule to that play (without guessing), and while the referees should know, the chances of that happening and that they have encountered it are slim to none. It's like history class when your professor names Grant's cabinet. It would be nice to know, but you figure it won't be on the test. Who the hell knows that anyway? But you want to know why I'm really pissed? At the very end of the article and on ESPN today, they spent time talking about the bettors who lost money because the lost touchdown meant the Steelers didn't cover the spread. ESPN actually focused its time on the betting angle. I get that bettors are pissed, but that is no reason to "tweak" the rule (granted, the NFL is not tweaking it for that reason, but still). If you bet money, it should be "play money", money you don't need. If you're doing it for a living (which I might understand in our times), that money would probably be better spent elsewhere considering the 50% chance (at least) of you failing. Let it also be known that if baseball goes to IR for everything, this can happen there as well. The whole "let's get it right" argument doesn't work out all the time.

Rant over. Thank you for listening (reading).