Packers Vs. Seahawks: Instant Reaction

I can honestly say that I have never blamed the officials for a loss. Not once in my life have I ever been convinced that one of my teams was completely robbed of a win by officials. In almost every case, the officiating was not truly the deciding factor in a game, and the losing team had plenty of opportunities to win the game otherwise.

Obviously, the Green Bay Packers had plenty of chances to finish off the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night. They could have gotten a first down on their final drive. They could have gotten to Russell Wilson on the final play of the game. They were terrible throughout the first half.

But the final play of the game was a complete farce. Golden Tate interfered with Sam Shields in the end zone, then M.D. Jennings intercepted Wilson. The referees signaled for a touchdown, and the Seahawks won.

If any good comes out of this play -- which was only the worst call in what was almost certainly the most poorly officiated professional sporting event I've ever watched -- it will be the event that forces Roger Goodell to pick up the phone to the professional referees and ask them to name their price. If the Packers had to lose to save the integrity of the NFL going forward, at least this nonsensical game did some good for sport.

I don't blame the replacement officials, who were thrown into positions that they are not qualified for. No one would hire me to write an epic series of science fiction novels and assume that I will perform that job adequately simply because I've spent time doing some writing. I don't harbor any ill will towards the Seahawks, who played an excellent game. I don't harbor any ill will towards Seahawks fans, who had to watch their team get screwed over just as often as the Packers before the final play.

Instead, I blame the NFL and Roger Goodell for destroying a brilliant product and turning it into something that I hope you decide to stop consuming.