It took the sight of Tyquan Thornton’s left foot pointing sideways from a dislocated ankle after the Chiefs wide receiver was tackled deep in Raiders territory Sunday to divert the prevailing sports talk from rampant bad refereeing.
Because: defensive pass interference. It’s the bane of the football fan’s viewing existence. There’s a wincing reflex ingrained over the years, given the call’s dubious frequency, compromising far, far too much downfield action, and as a result, amazed relief greets most any pass that sails more than 15 yards and somehow escapes a ref’s flagging.
As the 800-pound gorilla that is the N.F.L. muscles across international borders, one has to wonder what, exactly, Brazil, for instance, gets out of it, but even there the recent Ravens-Cowboys to-do was marred by pass interference, no doubt to the bewilderment of all the soccer fans taking in the spectacle. That same week, everyone’s preseason Super Bowl pick, the L.A. Rams, had a game ripped from the win column by a credulous ref’s flying yellow kerchief, as what should have been an interception was disallowed by pass interference play-acted by a Denver wideout.
Illegal contact shall not hinder an eligible receiver in his opportunity to catch a forward pass. Okay. A defender’s hand on his opponent’s back? Admissible. A fistful of jersey? A no-no. Is it arbitrary? Yes. Is it reviewable by replay? No.
Like so many facets of life in this country, what at one point may have been well intentioned (promoting fan-pleasing scoring) has gone the way of the unnecessarily complicated, even stupefying. See: the tax code, health insurance, the electoral college, financial aid, N.C.A.A. athletic conferences void of any basis in geography or rationality. Probate.
It would be nice to think that exasperation throughout the fan base and the media has at last cracked the facade. And the zebras, ideally unobtrusive background players, have started blowing their stacks in unseemly and visible ways. One, Adrian Hill, on Sunday was accidentally knocked to the ground by a Minnesota Vikings linebacker, who then offered to help him up, but the ref arose ready to throw hands. (A one-game suspension.)
Another, Jeff Seeman, apparently cursed out Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals on the sideline after the tight end dared to argue for, yes, pass interference. (A two-game suspension for the line judge.)
Back when Pat Summerall and John Madden were announcing games for CBS, sometimes we’d get admiring little biographies of referees: an attorney here, an executive of American industry there. John Q. Citizen, reporting for sporting duty. These days, doing so would put their lives at risk, what with all the online bettors enraged by their mounting losses (enthusiastically aided and abetted by the N.F.L., of course).
Yet the worst of the pressure could easily be removed from refereeing. Downfield, let the boys get handsy. Like back in the glory days. Let the thrown ball be contested. Let ’em play.