Upon Further Review, Replay Remains a Joke
(January 24, 2000)

The short article which follows is not a knee jerk reaction to the controversial call at the end of the NFC Championship Game. I have always disliked the use of instant replay as an officiating tool and this article, other than the first and last paragraphs, has been sitting on my hard drive since October. After watching the system fail miserably throughout the year, punctuated by the last Bucs game, there seemed to be no better time to publish this story.

Why replace one imperfect system with another imperfect system? The National Football League's latest use of the instant replay to review calls on the field has proven as flawed as previous incarnations. While I have never been an advocate of the use of replay as an officiating tool, supporters feel it can help referees make the right call and eliminate some of the controversy. The facts prove otherwise.

Replay helps get the call right? Hardly. There appears to be no rhyme or reason to the referee's decisions. Quite frequently, and despite what television viewers would consider conclusive video evidence, referees continue to be reluctant to reverse calls made on the field. Then, there are times the replay seems to be inconclusive and the referee does reverse the call.

The use of instant replay has not reduced controversy. It never has and only serves to fuel it. It may not even be realistic to think that the use of replay can end controversy.

What has the use instant replay actually done? Well, it has caused needless game delays averaging a couple minutes for each review. I will not even mention how ridiculous the ref looks going into that voting booth thing to look at the video.

Lets face it, there will incorrect calls whether there is instant replay or not. Why replace one imperfect system with another imperfect system?

Yes, the referees blew the call at the end of the last Bucs game. Did it cost the Buccaneers the game? No! What cost them the game was the inability to score a touchdown. If you cannot score at least one TD, you do not deserve to win. To those who are bad-mouthing the refs, or are mailing screws to the league office (as promoted by one local radio station), perhaps your efforts could be directed toward ending the replay all together. Make it your personal campaign. Email every team in the league, email the league office, email the media and then start over and do it again. The use of instant replay is a joke, unfortunately, it's not funny.