So I've got this story I've been dying to share with you, that has made national headlines recently, and I want to know what you think.
Here's the situation:
Two Massachusetts high schools, Cathedral High School and Blue Hills Regional Technical School, were competing this past weekend in a season ending Super Bowl Championship game.
Cathedral senior quarterback, Matthew Owens, rushed for the go-ahead touchdown to cap off what would have been an undefeated season and Cathedral's first ever Super Bowl victory.
On his way to the goal line, Matthew "raised his arm for two strides" before crossing into the end zone, untouched, and scored the game winning TD, with almost no time left. All sounds great, right?
Wrong, because no more than 5 seconds later the touchdown was nullified by the referee, citing a new Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association rule that, "bans any celebratory or taunting behavior by someone scoring a touchdown." The rule, just instated this year, not only nullified the touchdown, but resulted in a loss for Cathedral, 16-14.
I'm going to post the play for you to see and decide for yourself. Was this "un-sportsman like and taunting, or was this a blatant abuse of power?"
Many people here feel that the ruling should be overturned, but the MIAA said in a statement to the press that "there is no provision in it's rules to overturn an official's call after the game is over".
What do you think?
9 comments:
I think that rule is Bullshit. It is even Bullshit in the NFL. I think there was big money on that game and the ref got paid off to look for anything minuscule to call....
They don't call me the king of the Conspiracy Theories for nothin....
WHAT?! No way. The poor boy was just excited. He wasn't rubbing anyone's nose in it. In fact, it's hardly noticeable. That ruling is PURE CRAP.
well I do agree with the "Can't over rule the official after the event" statement - I'm a motorsports fan but sadly in that it happens all the time, too often a race result is decided in a committee room three weeks after the event - I've known championships decided like that and ... IT SUCKS!
Anyway - I cannot believe the guy was penalised for that. Secondly when the play is restarted the reaction of the other players is much much worse in terms of taunting etc. Stupid rule... or at least stupid interpretation of it.
This sort of thing really grinds The Maven's gears. That idiotic rule, no doubt, emanates from the same mentality that everyone should get a trophy. A perusal of the MIAA website tells you exactly where the MIAA Board of Directors are coming from. Over-regulating, over-indulgent, over-reaching, self-serving and self-absorbed,. If you can't celebrate a sports win, what then, can be celebrated??
he was robbed!
100 years ago, I played high school sports back when Billy "White Shoes" Johnson's spiking the ball on a touchdown caused a stir, and that wouldn't even have been noticed back then.
If you hit a walk off 2 run home run to win the high school world series, and you team mates swarm you at home plate, do you called out because you high fived the third base coach on the way to home plate?
Ruling was wrong, but you can't strip the victory from the other team, either.
It wasn't a celebratory gesture, it was a pre-planned signal to his team mates that "I got it"
Yeah, that is bullshit, he in no way was taunting. Maybe someday he can make it to the NFL where they celebrate after EVERY single play.
If there is no rule to overturn a referee's call was the referee who signaled the touchdown over ruled?
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