Mar 23, 2017

If You Can't Win, Just Change the Law

image via AceShowBiz
On September 24th, 2012, the underdog Seattle Seahawks faced the powerful Green Bay Packers. Down 12-7 in the game's final seconds, Seahawks quarterback Russel Wilson lobbed the ball blindly into the endzone praying for a touchdown. It was ruled one, but the call proved highly controversial, with many Packers fans feeling cheated.

So cheated that one sore fan tried to change the law to prevent it from ever happening again.

For the full story we need to flash back to before the season started. It was dark times for the National Football League and NFL Referee's Association. They couldn't agree on a new contract and the fall season was looming. Fortunately the NFL brought in replacement referees so that America could still enjoy their Sunday afternoons watching less than fifteen minutes of action over the course of three hours.

Unfortunately the refs were not very good, with most coming straight from local high schools . . . or the Lingerie Football League, which if you couldn't infer is as much a football league as Hooters is a family restaurant.

image via Printsome
A families-be-damned restaurant.

After three weeks of questionable calls, it all finally came to blows in the aforementioned Seahawks-Packers game. While the NFL supported the call, it didn't matter to Packers fans. While some politicians/Green Bay fans such as Paul Ryan lamented the loss, one New Jersey Senator went the extra mile.

State Senator Steve Sweeney is a huge Packers fan; he even brags about it as one of his key attributes on his official website. So it should come as no surprise that mere hours after the loss, Sweeney began using his power to make sure it never happened again. Sweeney introduced legislation banning replacement refs from working anywhere in New Jersey, citing player safety due to bad reffing and totally not the fact that his favorite team just lost.

image via NJMonthly
Sweeney, pondering other ways to waste everyone's time.

Fortunately, the NFL inadvertently put a stop to Sweeney's attempt when they settled their contract with new referees, and the replacement refs were themselves replaced.

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