"controversial" calls in the last 5 minutes of the game so as not to become "the" story. The same thing happens in the NBA.

It's bothered me for years--if it is in the damn rulebook, it's there for a reason and it's there for the whole game, not just 90% of the game.

Maddening.

That's the biggest driver here. As you said their biggest fear is becoming the story of the game. Swallowing the whistle at the end of a playoff game (or not pulling the flag) in hockey, football, or basketball is usually the safest bet with that fear in mind. Obviously this strategy backfired epically in this case.

of the game.” It would have been the moron who Mack-trucked a WR while a perfectly thrown ball was coming to him.

Rewarding that kind of desperate stupidity is never OK. And if you don’t want to feel responsible for the progress of a football game, don’t become a ref. Because well-deserved penalties cannot but affect the outcome of a game. Grow up.

You're a professional referee because you're expected to enforce the rules with consistency, regardless of game situation.

I've seen the theory that this phenomenon extends even more deeply into college basketball, particularly during the NCAA tournament. Apparently the number of fouls called on each team is shockingly even during March; when one team accumulates a foul discrepancy, the stats seem to show that the refs will work pretty consistently to even the playing field - so as not to make refereeing the post-game "story".

As you said, it's fucking maddening.

distributed’ mind set of bb fans.

Making the decision you outlined is still a human error. It wouldn't have been made because the NFL wanted LA in the Super Bowl or he himself wanted LA in the Super Bowl. If that isn't human error, it is at worst the stupid refereeing symptom of not wanting to call a penalty/foul at the end of a game that they would've called at any other time during the game.

The conspiracy theories are where the gripes fly off the rails and lose any sort of sympathy one might have for the Saints. I have none, so I find the whole thing hilarious.

I'd say it wasn't so much an "error", as it was a manifestation of the horrible end-of-game ref'ing philosophy that seems to be endemic in professional sports.

I think we're all agreeing here, just stating it differently. I don't think it was corrupt, but I don't think it was just a simple "mistake", either.

happens all the times in games--what is the rule for the first 55 minutes of the game changes in the last 5.

It isn't a conspiracy or corruption, however.

and really more impotent than anything else.