4 Years Later Head Official Apologizes to Seahawks for Super Bowl XL

[Goody]

A trip to Seahawks camp on Friday gave referee Bill Leavy a chance to get something off his chest that he's probably wanted to say for a while.

"It was a tough thing for me," Levy said in reference to his infamous performance in Pittsburgh's 21-10 win over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. "I kicked two calls in the fourth quarter and I impacted the game and as an official you never want to do that. It left me with a lot of sleepless nights and I think about it constantly. I'll go to my grave wishing that I'd been better."

(It's right about here Seahawks fans say: Only two? The Darrell Jackson pass interference in the first quarter and the upheld Ben Roethlisberger touchdown late in the first half also looked questionable.)

"I know that I did my best at that time, but it wasn't good enough," Leavy continued. "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."

We're not sure how Seahawks fans will feel about Leavy's mea culpa, but we give him a lot of credit. The game clearly haunts him like it probably haunts Matt Hasselbeck, Mike Holmgren, and Seahawks fans.

Leavy owned up to his failings. Four years later, the city of Seattle may as well admit Leavy was just one of many reasons why their team lost.

Second, it's important to remember that just because Leavy admitted to blowing two calls doesn't mean that those were the only blown calls. Leavy wasn't the one who called the Roethlisberger touchdown; that was head linesman Mark Hittner. Nor was Leavy in charge of the first-quarter offensive pass interference call on Seahawks receiver Darrell Jackson(notes). Do the Seahawks have to wait another five years for the admissions on those calls?

Put simply, the Seahawks didn't play well enough to win Super Bowl XL. They made several crucial mistakes, but it's also correct to say that the Steelers didn't play well enough to win. Officiated correctly, XL probably would have been an ugly war of attrition; a barely-remembered close game that could have gone either way. But because of the calls made, the league's subsequent denial that anything was wrong with those calls, and Leavy's admission of guilt so much later, this game will never go away.

Four years later, Bill Leavy apologizes to Seahawks | ProFootballTalk.com

NFL referee admits he made game-altering mistakes in 2006 Super Bowl - ESPN

Super Bowl XL head official admits to blown calls - Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports




YouTube - ‪Seahawks got screwed‬‎

[Cooleyvol]

I hope this brings closure for all you Hawks fans.

[Goody]

Seahawks applaud ref; Steelers shrug him off
The Seattle Seahawks say they appreciate official Bill Leavy admitting he made two bad calls in their Super Bowl loss but are ready to move on. The Steelers, however, aren't ready to hand over their championship rings.

Nine players remain from the team's lone Super Bowl appearance in 2006, including quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. He was whistled for a low block on what appeared to be a legal tackle on an interception return in the fourth quarter of that loss to Pittsburgh. The Steelers used the better field position from the penalty on Hasselbeck to score the clinching touchdown in Pittsburgh's 21-10 victory.

"It's a game. It's not a perfect science," Hasselbeck said Saturday, after Leavy again worked at the Seahawks' training camp practice. "There's a lot of human involvement there. I've played some games that I remember because I feel I did a good job and I remember some other games where I have regrets. That goes for any sport, any player. I'm sure coaching is no different. And I'm sure officiating is the same way."
.........
Steelers tackle Max Starks offered some advice to Leavy.

"He should go ahead and retire if he feels so bad about it," Starks said Saturday, according to the McKeesport (Pa.) Daily News. "Just do us all a favor and not referee anymore."

Steelers linebacker James Farrior was surprised to hear about Leavy's apology.

"We won a whole other Super Bowl after that, and they are still talking about the first one," he said according to the McKeesport (Pa.) Daily News.

Leavy also spoke to Seahawks players at a team meeting Friday with a similar message.

"I had a word with him and told him I really appreciated it," said defensive tackle Craig Terrill, a backup on that Super Bowl team. "I certainly don't have any hard feelings against him. There were plenty of things we did in that game that kept us from winning. He can't take responsibility for the mistakes we made, but I appreciated it."
........
Jordan Babineaux, however, said Leavy waited too long to acknowledge his mistakes.

"To his credit he came out and did admit his faults, but it doesn't make me feel any better," Babineaux said, according to the Seattle Times. "You can't turn back the hands of time.

"I don't even wear my NFC championship ring. I appreciate it and I think we had a memorable season for the franchise, but I don't wear it because in my mind that season didn't end the way it was supposed to."

Cornerback Marcus Trufant said it's time for the Seahawks -- and all of Seattle, for that matter -- to put the game behind them.

"It's tough," Trufant said. "Anytime you're in the Super Bowl, that's the highest of the high. When things go bad, they always tell you not to worry about the refs and stuff like that. Things do happen. Nobody's perfect. It's just one of those things.
............
"It was probably a good thing that we talked," Hasselbeck said. "Because I think just like Seahawk fans, I myself had to get to the point where I could kind of get past everything. And he's a great guy and actually a really, really good official."

But will the quarterback ever truly get over that game?

"I'm still a little upset about losing my high school state championship game," Hasselbeck said. "There are just some games you're never going to forget. Put it on the list."

from - 2010 NFL training camps: Seattle Seahawks applaud ref; Pittsburgh Steelers shrug him off - ESPN


In the spirit of closure, and looking back in this thread...

YouTube - Walter Jones Highlights

Retired last year after 13 seasons as one of the best linemen ever in the NFL, and allergic to pain meds.

[Ragnar]

The QB TD was questionable, but it was really close. But the pass interference? The one in the endzone?

I don't care what the ref says, but that was text book offensive pass interference. They could actually show that replay as a perfect example of offensive pass interference. The WR pushes the defender while the ball is in the air just enough so that he is taken out of the play and he can catch the TD.

If that's not pass interference then they better stop calling pass interference on defenders breathing too hard on the WR.

It was offensive pass interference plain and simple. Seattle fans need to live with it.

[jbergey22]

All this does is take away from the Steelers victory so Im not sure why it was brought up.

I think the Vikings were hosed in the NFC championship against the Saints on some calls but the Saints won the game and deserved to be the NFL champions. Bad calls are part of the game. You complain about them for a week and move on. This is 4-5 years later.

I agree with Max Starks.

Also, Adrian Peterson is going to destroy the entire NFL this year.