What's the Single Worst Call You've Ever Seen?

No. No no no no no no no.

This was the turning point for me in realizing just how successful the NFL had been in wining and dining and granting special access to all the top writers, because those supposedly objective voices went out and spun a tale that is just not true.

The tuck rule says: "When [an offensive] player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body. Also, if the player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble."

What is "tucked the ball into his body"? Does it actually have to touch his chest? Or would having both hands on the ball just in front of the chest be enough? Does that sound like a player trying to throw a forward pass, someone holding the ball with both hands in front of his chest while the defender crashes down? And furthermore, did that replay show with 100 percent incontrovertible clarity that that's what happened with Brady?

The media consensus after that was it was a bad rule but correct application. No. It was a bad rule AND a bad application of it.

 

Eyewitnessed? Fifth down, hand's down. And the immediate aftermath on the field and in the locker room areas was crazy.

 

You're right. Nobody remembers that one because, honestly, who gives a shit about a Syracuse/Toledo fb game, but purely in terms of sheer inexcusable inexplicable blunder-ness, it might be the most bewildering. Honest to god, how is it possible that both the field officiating crew and replay officials could miss something that obvious?

 

In person? Right here.

Worse yet, play was not even reviewed. Officiating crew and replay crew were suspended the next week, but only after much protest from OSU that nothing was being done about it.

 

Remember this Oregon/Oklahoma onside kick:

1. Oregon player clearly illegally touches ball first within 10 yards; 2. Oklahoma player appears to end up with the recovery anyways. Refs rule Oregon ball. Replay officials confirm.

Man have there ever been some awful college football calls.

 

It wasn't a horrible call necessarily but I was in the building for the Nebraska-Texas Big 12 title game when UT was given an extra second to kick the game winning field goal.

I've never seen an angrier post-game locker room area/interview area scene in person and I'm convinced that's the day Nebraska decided it needed to leave the Big 12.

 

What's the Single Worst Call You've Ever Seen?
October 23, 1977, my bedroom. Carrie P. wrongly deciding she wasn't ready to go all the way. ter-ruh-bull

 

Wow. I've never seen that Bama play. That is quite a trip, there.

 

I almost think you need to separate boxing from the rest of the sports in this discussion... Any sport where the judges declare the winner (barring a knockout) are going to be much worse than typical team sports.

I agree with the sentiment that calling last night's touchdown pass the worst call in NFL history is laughable. Hell, David Maraniss called it that on his FB page.

I can't count Denkinger because it made me so happy...

 

OK, excluding boxing, I once saw Derwood Merrill run down the line towards the Pesky Pole at Fenway to call a ball hit into the stands fair or foul and immediately throw up both arms in the touchdown position. He changed it a nanosecond later, but what a wonderful memory.

 

Outing alert: heyabbott is Meat Loaf.

 

Not yet mentioned:

2002 Olympic Figure Skating
The snowplow