Four years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10, in Super Bowl XL to join the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers as the only franchises in the National Football League to have won five Vince Lombardi trophies.
But a forgotten aspect of this game is the officiating, which drew harsh criticism from the fans and the media in the wake of the final result. In fact, a February 7 ESPN online poll revealed that 61.7% of voters felt that “officiating mistakes affected the outcome of Super Bowl XL”.
Not surprisingly, Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren was equally displeased and made his feelings known in a celebration for the Seahawks at Qwest Field the day after the game, saying, "We knew it was going to be tough going against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well."
In response to the charges of incompetence levied against the officiating crew, the NFL main offices, headquartered in New York City, released a statement in support of the officials just two days following the conclusion of the game.
"The game was properly officiated, including, as in most NFL games, some tight plays that produced disagreement about the calls made by the officials.” – NFL spokesman Greg Aiello
But like Lucille Ball, the NFL has some ‘splainin to do’ after the referee of the infamous Super Bowl XL officiating crew confessed that the controversial calls made in the game cost Seattle a shot at winning their first championship in franchise history.
According to ESPN.com, veteran official Bill Leavy acknowledged the error of his ways when he began an annual training-camp rules interpretation session with the Seattle media after practice on Friday by bringing up the subject without being asked.
"It was a tough thing for me. I kicked two calls in the fourth quarter and I impacted the game, and as an official you never want to do that," said the veteran of 15 NFL seasons and two Super Bowls.
Although Leavy wasn’t more specific about the two calls he “kicked”, the calls in the fourth quarter that raised the most controversy were a holding penalty against Seahawks right offensive tackle Sean Locklear that nullified a touchdown and a 15-yard personal foul on Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck during an interception return by the Steelers.
Earlier in the game, two additional calls that raised many eyebrows were a questionable offensive pass interference on wide receiver Darrell Jackson that nullified his 16-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter and a 1-yard touchdown run by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the second quarter where it wasn’t clear whether ‘Big Ben’ broke the plane of the goal line before he was down.
However, it’s the two unidentified fourth quarter calls that continue to eat away at Leavy’s psyche to this very day.
"It left me with a lot of sleepless nights, and I think about it constantly," Leavy said. "I'll go to my grave wishing that I'd been better."
"I know that I did my best at that time, but it wasn't good enough," Leavy added. "When we make mistakes, you got to step up and own them. It's something that all officials have to deal with, but unfortunately when you have to deal with it in the Super Bowl it's difficult."
How does NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, a native New Yorker, even begin to respond to this stunning admission?
Either way, in an era where Goodell has grown accustomed to administering his own form of tough New York justice, he is completely powerless to render a decision that can placate the Seahawks organization and its fans after it has finally been acknowledged they were robbed of their place in football history.
Major League Baseball umpire Jim Joyce can breathe an even bigger sigh of relief now.
Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and video highlights of Super Bowl XL between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks.
