Replacement Referees
One of the hottest topics not only in the sports world but all around the news was the replacement referees that were introduced into the National Football League at the beginning of the season because of a lockout the real refs were in. The replacement refs were brought in so that the game could go along and be played with officials. The first few weeks were not a huge deal with the replacements making a few bad calls here and there but fans and players both soon realized how bad they really were. During a game in week three of the NFL between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks, where in the last seconds of the game Russell Wilson of Seattle threw a long ball down field and both Packers defenders and Golden Tate of the Seahawks went up for the ball and after that it all fell apart. Two refs ran to the play and after the players came to the ground both refs made the call. The surprise was that both refs made different calls. One claimed it was a touchdown while the other said interception.
So? What do you think about the call. NFL rules say that if two players have joint possession that the player to first touch the ball gets it. In that case Green Bay would have the interception and the game would be over with Seattle. After review the refs called it a touchdown giving Seattle a win. That was when the whole world knew it was ready for the real refs to be back. A game changing call that was wrong. Referees who don't even know the rule book.
Another big problem facing the replacement refs was when a ref was pulled from a week two game between the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints. The referee is a New Orleans fan and even had pictures of himself on Facebook in Saints apparel. The issue showed how unprofessional the replacements were and made some believe what about the other replacements?
The issue of how horrible the replacement referees brought a lot of talk. News analyst, NFL fans , and even players were talking about the topic. Not only being a daily topic for sports news such as ESPN but also for other news broadcasters on local news channels and bigger news channels such as MSNBC where some joked and said that Obama should step in and settle the NFL lockout. Many NFL players also expressed their feelings for ending the lockout. One thing they all agreed on is how awful the replacements were. Many were heated about big calls that could of changed the outcomes of very important games.
Some ask if they wrong calls should be over turned and games be given to other teams. This would be a even bigger issue in the NFL. Eventually the NFL decided that they needed to end the lockout and let the real referees return paying them what they ask and that is why the NFL and the referee union reached an agreement soon after the drama, ending the lockout.
