There were a lot of head scratching moments during the Super Bowl, the blackout being one of the biggest. However, there was another incident that really had me stumped.
It confuses me why Ravens’ defensive back Cary Williams was not flagged for a personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he pushed an official in the early stages of the game. It confuses me why Cary Williams was not ejected for pushing this official, and it confuses me even more now that the NFL has gone out of their way to announce that Cary Williams will not be fined for the blatant hit on the referee.
Just over two years ago, 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith was immediately ejected from a Thursday night contest in San Diego for gently bumping an official, but then again, that was a Thursday night Week 15 game being played by the then 5-8 49ers. And that is what gets on my nerves more than anything else in any sport. I cannot for the life of me understand why officiating changes as the games get more important.
Why is a playoff game officiated differently than a Week 3 game? Why is a Conference Championship game officiated differently than a Wild Card game? And why is a Super Bowl officiated differently than all the others?
Rules are rules. Earlier this season, when asked why Vikings’ Harrison Smith was ejected from his game versus Tennessee, referee Jeff Triplette said: “He grabbed the official when the official was trying to separate them and pushed the official to the side. That’s an automatic ejection.” Not much room for interpretation here, huh?
Now don’t get me wrong, I was befuddled by several of the other calls, or non-calls, made in the Super Bowl, but none more than this one, simply because there was not a single other call that was as clear-cut to me as this one. And that is the sole reason why I am so absolutely shocked and dumbfounded as to why not only the officials missed the call, but why the NFL seems to be ignoring the whole situation as well.
I don’t want to start accusing anyone of any suspicious activity or conspiracy, but why is this not raising more eyebrows? In a day and age when the media blows everything out of proportion, how has this managed to fly under the radar? Maybe I’m just a crazed 49er-fan that’s still living in denial, or maybe I’m on to something here. The sequence of events and the actions taken in response to those events just do not add up, and I am still waiting on a formal explanation as to why this issue has been swept under the carpet as the Ravens celebrate their Super Bowl XLVII victory.
