Football

It's almost midnight and we are watching the amazing and very odd end of the Green Bay Packers and Seattle SeaHawks football game.  I'm far from a major football fan but the controversy about the referees and the league has piqued my interest.  Honestly, I haven't watched any of this game but this ending is unbelievable.  With no time left on the clock, the SeaHawks threw a Hail Mary pass that appeared to be intercepted by the Green Bay Packers.  It was close yet the referees gave it to the SeaHawks!

For those of you who don't follow football, the games are being played without the regular officials.  If you do actually follow football more closely, please bear with me and my horrible explanation.  Every year the league normally gives the referees a raise.  During discussions this year, the league stated that the referees would receive a larger raise but have to convert their pensions to 401Ks.  This did not sit well with the referees who counter-offered with no raise but grandfathering the pensions for current officials and using 401Ks for any new referees.   The league rejected this and prevented the referees from calling games while further discussions ensued.

The officials calling the games really don't have the experience to be calling games at this level.  Many of these referees have come from Division 3 college (the lowest out of 3 divisions), high school, and some of these guys are still refereeing middle school games.  The NFL is a completely different league.  As a result, many questionable calls have been made that have left players and fans demanding for the league to meet the referees demands and get them back on the field.  Turn on any sports radio station and this controversy will be what you hear about.  There was a the question of whether the league would maybe give in if these bad calls actually cause a team to win or lose a game.   Well, that game happened tonight and everyone is in absolute shock by it.

This is going to be the talk of the week and I actually might tune in for a little bit.