Getting it off my chest

[jfkbengals]

BelsnickelWhen the game finally ended last night, and I was done explaining why things were done the way they were done, I told my wife that I a happy the Steelers get to move on to the next round, but I don't count that as a win for anyone. Honestly, the refs blew very few calls, as much as everyone is bitching about them. Porter should've been flagged, and the PF on a defenseless receiver early in the game that went against the Bengals, I still believe that the receiver was a runner at that point. What the refs did fail to do, was maintain control of the game. I don't blame them too much for that, though, because that has to be a tough job. Those teams were ready to go at each other from the start.

I think I am most disappointed in the fans. The ones in the stadium throwing things, being violent, and the ones here that joined those in the stadium in calling for and celebrating injuries. Maybe I have never been quite as fervent in my devotion to a sports team, but I can't understand any situation in which that is acceptable. I've chastised friends in the past (when I had friends) when they pulled this. It's just sad for the team, for the city, and for the game of football.

It was the same moron who let it get out of hand from the get go in the last game, and I had zero expectation that they would maintain any control in this game.

Once Shazier blasted Bernard, and they failed to flag it or calm things down, I knew the crowd was going to go berserk.  You had a Steeler defender announce prior to the last game that he intended to hurt one of our players, then do so illegaly and blantantly late after a play.  Then in this game is Shazier's flagrant hit with no foul called on it.  NO fan base is going tolerate that, and in EVERY stadium there will be a restless feeling that it could become a mob.  Especially when it is the same idiot who couldn't control it the prior time.

Remember that the Pittsburgh fan base sent a multitude of death threats and vandalized the home of an official who blew a call in a game that they won, so I'm pretty damn sure that the result would be identical had everything been flipped and in Pitt.