roddy, I'm not sure why it's relevant that Porter was running his mouth before a game the Steelers won. I mean, did he know in advance the Steelers would win, and so the classy thing would have been to stay quiet?

Of course, the contention seems to be that the NFL is fixed, so maybe he did know....

And, of course, after the game, his teammates and coach disavowed Porter's complaints (Cowher: "That's ridiculous."). They didn't stand in front of 30,000 Steelers fans at a rally and say, "We had to beat Indy and the refs." Why not? Maybe because, Porter excepted, they have more class than that.

Here are a few penalties, and non-penalties from the Super Bowl I would like to see addressed and explained by the fans upset about calls that did not go Seattle's way.To me they are things that happen in every NFL game, but there seems to be a mood to have someone explain in great detail exactly what the officials were thinking on every call. I would like to hear from Seattle fans why the below list were all valid calls that should have been made/not made:

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1Q: Boulware hits Ward after an incomplete pass. The ref closest to the play throws a flag. After a conference with 3 or 4 other refs the flag is picked up. No foul called. Cost's the Steelers 15 yards, and a first down.

2Q: Hasselbeck pass caught by Stevens who turns and then fumbles when hit by Hope. A quick whistle kills the play. Both announcers say it should have been a fumble. The Steelers should have had a big momentum play, plus the fumble return yards.

2Q: 5-yard screen pass to Bettis setting up a 2-5 at the Seattle 17. Play is nullified by an offensive interference call against Heath Miller. Can anyone tell me what Heath did to get the penalty? Can anyone remember a screen pass where a TE was called for offensive interference? A 2-5 at the 17 becomes a 2-20 at the 32.

3Q: During the int return, Roethlisberger is blocked in the back at the Steeler 35. No call. Seattle ball at the Pitt 20, when it should have been moved back to the 50. 1 play later Seattle scores their only TD.

3Q: On that TD to Stevens, both announcers point out that Seattle ran a pick on Polomalu that was not called. (They never call picks, but it's in the book and I included it for a little NFL humor).

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Now all those iffy calls and non-calls occured in the same game that I keep hearing had call after call go against the Steelers and for Seattle. Now I am sure someone will reply that the above list didn't change the game - for example after the offensive interference call on Miller, the Steelers converted a 3-28 on a great play from Ben to Ward. But that's the point isn't it? The Steelers made plays after calls against them, and non-calls that could have helped them. Seattle did not.

...or it's you that can't just let it go. man oh man.

now i'm even starting to agree with kneel that this is getting to be clowning.

mr. roth, my comments about porter and many other players and fans were to illustrate that people complain about why they lost. the refs. the weather. their teammates. it's natural. unless of course you're from seattle. then you should just let it go, apparently. and i have. i haven't been complaining about the refs since the intitial shock and immediate conversations that followed. since then i've just been attempting to point out some hypocrisy against seattle fans. jim likes to say folks are not telling the truth. i was just pointing out that porter's quote, whether in full context or not, has him talking about "tricks." i didn't make that up. and that somehow the colts were less of a team because they wouldn't run right at joey, but rather would try to get around him. that somehow, using your head and sizing up a defense and making a play call on the field rather than through a headset from the sideline was wimpy and not old-school. of course, jim will surely parse that last statement and that i again took joey out of context. not that it matters, because once again the point about who's a complainer is lost. holmgren complained, yes. after the season was over, to a 100% seattle crowd. he shouldn't have pandered like that and should have followed his own players' lead, but he got swept up. if he's fined, i'll donate to the fee. but players from many teams, all season long, including joey porter of the steelers, complained right to the media during the season. just saying.

as for the truth about the calls in the game, the whole conversation is that there is no truth to NFL rules--most of the rules are they're completely subjective, it seems. so how is one fan's opinion more truthful than anothers?

but pittsburgh fans like jim want to keep it going. i've been trying to convey, unsuccessfully, that it's more than seattle fans that found the officiating lopsided. it's not in the national sports media as a big story because a few seattle fans felt a bit cheated. there's a myth fo you. many media folks and non-partisan fan have been pointing out the same thing.

now that doesn't mean there were no bad calls against the steelers, either. i thought i'd been very accomodating to the steelers fans about that. jim points out other controversial calls that were made against the steelers. i've said a while ago that i've deleted the game. i can't play it back to offer any explanations that would satisfy parser jim. i will grant that there could have been and even were bad calls.

many seattle fans here mentioned other calls that went against seattle, too. roethlisberger's delay of game, the possible offsides on the holding call and again on the following sack. the porter 'horse collar' of alexander. the holding that took back the warrick return in the second quarter.

parser jim will find evidence to support his case on each of these, surely. if i had the tape, i might be able to make a case against some of jim's examples. even without watching the tape, i still believe more bad calls went against seattle, and at more crucial moments in the game. rather than address that, i get back that there were bad calls against the steelers, too. i agree with jim (yes, it's true!) that the steelers did a better job with certain opportunities and setbacks, and that very well could be the difference in the outcome. the effect of each call changed the momentum of the game for each team.

but the point, one last time, is that if we can both find this many examples, without even watching every single little play for a hold or whathaveyou, then there was enough bad officiating and that makes both seattle fans and other observers wonder what would have been.