The Kick is Up...And it's....

This past weekend we all saw something that left us scratching our heads. In the most pivotal point in the Browns-Ravens game, the officials missed a call. Now I understand nobody is perfect, but they missed a call that even a monkey could make.

With the Browns lining up to kick the game-tying field goal and send the game into overtime, the two officials who's job it is to judge the field goal should have not been thinking about whether the 'Skins were going to cover the spread (I'm convinced that Donaghy and the NBA aren't the only ones), but instead should have impersonated competent human beings, stood under the cross bar, and realized when the ball went over their heads, that the field goal was good. I feel as if anybody should be able to tell if something went over their head, or didn't. Now it was a tricky call because the ball hit the part of the field goal posts that connects the uprights to the stand and then bounced back into the endzone, giving the illusion that the ball may have hit the crossbar and fell short. However, a simple use of the "over my head or not" test, with the assumption that these refs have even the slightest ability to perceive depth, would have shown that the kick did in fact go through.

Thankfully, the other refs were paying very close attention from the field (from which it is would have been much more difficult to judge) and were able to help in the conference that eventually led to the overturning of the call. Could you imagine what would have happened if that kick was called "No Good" and they stuck with it? Imagine Jordan's shot over Ehlo being waved off by the refs who said it didn't go in...

What kills me is that this is the second time I have seen this happen this year alone. Earlier this college football season, the Virginia Cavaliers were playing the North Carolina Tar Heels when a similiar situation occured. Kick Chris Gould's FG attempt barely cleared the cross bar, but one of the ACC's stellar officials (who most likely had his lunch money taken from him on a daily basis in high school) DUCKED as the ball went over the cross bar, because he thought the ball was going to hit him. When he came out of his cowardly crouch, he waved "No Good" after flipping the coin in his head. I still don't understand why he would duck. IT'S A FOOTBALL!!! If justice was had and the ball did in fact hit him (preferably in the head), I'm sure he would have survived. If anything, step to the side, put your hands up, do anything that doesn't affect you watching if the kick went through.

Thanks to two observant Virginia trainers, who told coach Groh the kick had in fact gone through the uprights, the call was challenged and overturned. At least the FBS (most pointless name change ever?) outdid the NFL by allowing such a play to be challenged. If anything needs to be reviewed, you'd think it'd be a play that literally puts points on the board.

In any event, to ensure this never happens again, there should be added instruction at the "football officials training camp" (60% chance of being a real thing) on how to judge field goals. A ref will stand 40 yards from the instructor, and the ball will be thrown in their direction. Their job, will be to judge if it went over their head, or didn't.

Let me also reference the musical genius of The Fray as they forsaw these terrible events happening, and came out with an utter classic. "EEEvvveryone knows it went over my head, over my head."


Musical Score of this article:
The Fray-Over My Head (Cable Car)