Mention the 2006 Super Bowl – Seahawks vs. Steelers – to any knowing football fan and you will likely hear, “The Seahawks got hosed.” Super Bowl 2006 will be forever defined by egregious and lopsided officiating, which makes Seahawks fans bitter to this day. Several important calls went against the Seahawks in what resulted in a 21-10 loss to the Steelers. In many interviews since, Bill Leavy, the 15 year NFL veteran referee who officiated that game, broke with protocol and acknowledged his mistakes by saying, "I kicked two calls in the fourth quarter and I impacted the game.” Inevitably, all sports teams end up on one side or the other of officiating – the right side or the wrong side and in Super Bowl 2006, Seattle was on the wrong side and it cost them their first run at a Super Bowl ring since their enfranchisement in 1976.
Jump to the 2012 NFL season where the season’s first three weeks were mired by a labor dispute and lockout with the regular-season refs. For those three weeks, football fans in bars all across America were aflutter with frustration and social media lit up with fury about the “replacement refs” who looked as if they had been plucked straight out of a pee wee football game in Upstate New York. The replacement ref debacle that kicked off the 2012 season might go down in history as the only time where the players, fans and NFL brass managed to agree on anything, which was to get the regular refs back on the field as soon as possible.
The last play of the third game into the season Seahawks vs. Packers will likely end up on sportswriters’ Most Memorable Sports Moments of 2012 lists. Playing on the NFL’s big stage, Monday Night Football, the replacement refs looked as awkward as a stripper attending Sunday Mass. With the Seahawks trailing 12-7 and down to their final play, quarterback Russell Wilson heaved a desperation pass toward the end zone. Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings rose highest and seemed to secure the ball, but Seahawks receiver Golden Tate managed to get his hands around the ball as well. One referee raised his arms to signal touchdown while another official waved his arms, seemingly signaling a touchback. After review, one of the calls on the field stood giving the Seahawks the win and one of the most disputed endings in the NFL history. Fans can thank Roger Goodell for handing them on a silver platter one the most absurd images in all of sports: two refs making two entirely different calls at exactly the same moment. The refs looked like they belonged in a Looney Tunes cartoon.
As the season comes to a fold, what does that “win” actually mean in the run up to the playoffs – was it a fluke or was it pivotal? Today, the Seahawks are a game up on Minnesota, Washington and Dallas and without that “win”, they would have been tied with those teams. Seattle is currently tied with Chicago for the wild card lead and they have the tie-breaker with Chicago, which is key. They also have the tie-breaker with Dallas (with whom they're a game up on) and the tie-breaker with Minnesota. So in that sense, the extra win buys them just that much room; but even if they didn't have that win, they have tie-breakers and would still have a good chance. Without that win, however, Chicago would be in the driver's seat even with their loss to the Seahawks because they'd still be a game up. And, let’s not forget that they have beaten some decent teams including New England, Chicago, Minnesota and Dallas.
So yes, it's altered the playoff race mainly because the NFC playoff race is so awesome and there are many teams in the running. The Seahawks have won when it was needed and even if they were 7-6 right now, they'd have tie-breakers with everyone but Washington, who's currently in the wild card race.
Lastly, this is a highlight of one poor call that altered one game of the 2012 football season. With only 16 games per team in an NFL season, any game-altering call can impact the fate of coaches, teams and players. Tally all the bad calls made by replacement refs in those first three weeks and the possible season-changing effects are too dizzying to contemplate.
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