NEW ORLEANS — A quest by two New Orleans Saints ticketholders to force a full or partial do-over of this year’s NFC championship game because of a blown “no-call” by game officials was rejected Thursday by a federal judge.
Officials failed to call interference or roughness penalties when a Rams player leveled a Saints receiver with a helmet-to-helmet hit at a crucial point in the final minutes of regulation time. The Rams won the Jan. 20 game in overtime and are set to play the New England Patriots in Sunday’s Super Bowl in Atlanta.
Fan reaction in New Orleans has included disbelief, anger and resignation, expressed in newspaper headlines, billboards (“They reffed up” said one), promises by some restaurants and bars that they won’t show the Super Bowl broadcast on Sunday, and posters of blind referees.