Fuck This Shit

There is something wrong with a rule system that awards 15 yards and an automatic first down to a team when their punter pretends to get tripped up by another player, even when another look clearly proves nothing actually happened. This is exactly what happened in the Badgers' bowl game. Florida State's punter gets away a clean punt under pressure, and the Badger player dives for the ball, passes right underneath the guy's leg with a couple of feet of clearance, and slides by without ever touching the punter. Because the punter kicks up his other leg and falls on his back, though, the referees throw the flag and call the penalty without ever seeing a replay! For a possession-changing, potentially game-changing play like that, why can we not consult a replay to make sure the correct call is made? 

There's always the chant that you just have to let the kids play, don't get bogged down in all the replays making sure calls are correct and whatever. You know what? That is fucking bullshit. Completely ridiculous, idiotic bullshit. There is a reason those rules are in place! You don't just throw a flag when something looks suspicious, you throw it when there is clear evidence that a penalty occurred!

The mantra for football seems to be that the referees are the ones who decide when a penalty has occurred, while the replays are just there to show really big hits and cool catches, and occasionally fix a really close call. But what about a blatantly obvious call that is completely fucked up because some kid is clever enough to make it look like he got taken out at the knee. It's completely ridiculous, and it's completely inexcusable. Personally, I think the most important thing for the referees and cameras to do is make sure that the game is decided by the players on the field, and not the jackasses wearing pinstripes carrying yellow handkerchiefs. 

Now I can't say with certainty that if that call had been made correctly, it would have changed the outcome of the game. The Badgers were flat out bad this year. But I'm fairly certain that we wouldn't have been embarassed the way we were. People who watched the game know, and should admit (I'm talking to you Florida St. fans!) that the final score, and even the halftime score, didn't really reflect how close the game had been.

Two things need to be fixed:

1. The replay/review system, including what can be replayed/reviewed, and the basis for making posession-changing calls in any situation. This includes a decreased reliance on field-side officials, and increased reliance on recorded, reviewable game footage, which doesn't lie, doesn't make decisions without any confirmed evidence, and just flat out doesn't fuck shit up!
2. Badger Football. The time has come for classic Wisconsin smash-mouth football to get updated. First thing? Recruit some fucking skill players, first and foremost a quarterback who can take advantage of situations where teams stack 9 guys in the tackle box and give you single coverage in 3 reciever sets. Our running game is so fucking good most years, we can't continue to squander it by not seizing the opportunities it affords us in the air!