The 2000 sports comedy film "The Replacements" tells the story of a group of misfit football players who rally from dismal circumstances to receive a "second chance at glory." There was no movie titled "The Replacement Referees.” For every NFL fan flabbergasted by this week’s Monday Night fiasco, we hope to never see a movie recreating the story of the replacement referees.

So, what happened to the regular NFL officials?

The officials, like athletes, have collective bargaining agreements (or CBA’s). Their CBA expired in June, and when the NFL and the referees could not come to terms with a new CBA, the officials were locked-out. The referees are looking for benefits that the NFL does not want to pay for (despite the modicum of revenue it would cost the NFL), and until the two parties can come to terms on a new CBA, games are being officiated by inexperienced replacement referees.

Their inexperience has shown.

We have all witnessed the horror first-hand. Call after call, these ill-trained officials reminded us that they are not long for the NFL world, and the fans will make sure of it. For the first three weeks of the NFL season, fans have seen games decided not only by the play-calling of the head coaches, but also by the calling of the officials.

Monday Night Football’s Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle Seahawks turned into a game that nobody had hoped to see (well, except maybe Seattle fans.) Several questionable calls led to a tightly-knit game, which was finally decided by one last play. Seattle and Green Bay fans held their breath as Seattle Quarterback Russell Wilson tossed up a 24-yard pass to end-zone. At the end of the play, everybody exhaled in confusion.

Several Green Bay players (notably, M.D. Jennings) elevated to intercept the pass. It appeared as though Jennings had possession of the ball in the air. However, Seattle receiver Golden Tate grabbed the ball on the way down. At the conclusion of the play, the call was made to grant Seattle the touchdown. To make matters worse, an official review could not be given to overturn the play. After 10 minutes of discussion, the teams were finally brought back onto the field to conduct the extra point. This officially ended the game.

Seattle was given the win 14-12, but under illegal circumstances.

According to the NFL Rulebook, under Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 5,

“If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control. If the ball is muffed after simultaneous touching by two such players, all the players of the passing team become eligible to catch the loose ball.”

Go back and watch the play again. Did one [Green Bay] player clearly have possession of the ball first? I will leave that up to you all to decide.

Unfortunately for the Green Bay Packers, this story of replacements did not end with Keanu Reeves saving the game. This story ended with the replacements destroying a game for one team and the morale of millions of NFL fans. Roger Goodell still has a say as to when the lockout can end, but, as we have seen previously, millions of angry fans will not get in the way of his business. As an NFL fan speaking on behalf of the rest, I can only say that I hope this story of a ragtag team of replacements ends soon.

And to the Green Bay fans, sorry about that.

 

Reach Contributor Miguel Arreola here; follow him here.