Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Bad Officiating and Holistic Justice

          It's all over ESPN and, probably, all local news stations here in Wisconsin. The overall officiating of the replacement referees went quickly from questionable to controversial in the 4th quarter of yesterday's Monday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and America's unofficial most-lovable team, the Green Bay Packers.
          I was watching the game at a friend's house for a little brat fry I had organized with my church's music/arts volunteers. The 4th quarter is when it all seemed to go south. First, the refs denied the Packers an interception due to a questionable "roughing the passer" call. Then, the Seahawks continued that possession to gain significant yardage from a wrongful "pass interference" call (which should have been against the Seahawks instead). Lastly, when the Seahawks threw a Hail Mary to the in-zone in the closing seconds, which looked like it got caught mostly by a Packer in the scuffle, the replacement refs deemed it a Seahawks touchdown, giving them the victory. This is, arguably, just some of what the refs got wrong or missed.
          Twitter and Facebook were instantly overflowing with disappointment in the replacement referees, to say the least. And this wasn't just coming from Packer fans. There are, seemingly, very livid calls from the masses for, primarily, the "real" referees to return, no matter the cost. Pretty much any NFL fan (save, maybe, for Seahawks fans, but I could be wrong) is at least somewhat enraged right now. After all, how can we have a fair season if such poor officiation continues? So, I had some thoughts.
          Last night's game was disappointing, but it's not a big-time tragedy, and this issue isn't anything new. Aaron Rodgers, from what I've heard, is handling last night's fiasco in a professional and mature manner, exuding his Christ-like values. This isn't the first time for him, either. I remember when the Packers lost in the 2009 playoffs to the Arizona Cardinals on a missed facemask call, and again Rodgers wasn't shaken. Last night was one regular season loss. Bad officiating has cost teams much more in the past. It's possibly cost the Vikings a few Super Bowls. 
          Sometimes complete restoration just isn't attainable. People are calling for the firing of the replacement refs, the reversal of the call and the victory for the Packers. (I doubt that will happen, but I do think something should be done about the replacement refs). But as a Vikings fan, the penalties levied against the New Orleans Saints don't compare to the Super Bowl trophy that they bountied away. A serious and sports-unrelated example is how financial restoration to the victims of Bernie Madoff's scheme was also impossible. 
          Some damage can't be wholly undone. I know that last night's game could be a silly and shallow example for theological concepts, but we can always think about our strives for integrity and justice, but also remembering the only Source of true and complete grace and restoration.   

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