jmccollum@latour.DEC (11/16/85)
I agree with the contentions that the person who threw the snowball from the stands during last Monday's game between Denver and San Francisco is a jerk. Apparently, so does he.... Associated Press Friday 15-NOV-1985 12:40 In what is, hopefully, the final episode in the Monday night snowball incident, the perpetrator has apologized and the National Football League says the referee had the option of ordering a re-kick, but ruled the snowball didn't affect the play. The Snowballer, who asked not to be identified, responded to a San Francisco Examiner offer of $500 for a first-person account of why a snowball was launched from the stands during Monday night's San Francisco-Denver game, apparently distracting 49er holder Matt Cavanaugh and aborting a field-goal attempt. ``I'm really sorry about what I did and I want to apologize to the 49ers and 49er fans,'' The Snowballer said. ``I don't want the money. I feel bad enough already. Everybody thinks I'm a jerk, and I just don't want the people in San Francisco to think all Bronco fans are jerks. ``I'm sorry, and I'll never throw another snowball again - ever.'' The young man, in his mid-20s and using his parents' season tickets, said he and a friend both threw snowballs at the same time. His buddy's toss hit the goal post, but The Snowballer's heave landed in front of Cavanaugh as the ball was being snapped. ``Everybody around us started calling us jerks,'' he said. ``That's when I realized that it was stupid. ``We were really hoping that the Broncos would win by at least four points.'' Denver won 17-16, and 49er loyalists contended the missed first-half field goal cost the defending Super Bowl champions the game. The Snowballer said he agrees with a newly announced Bronco policy that includes revocation of season ticket privileges for anyone caught throwing snowballs during a game. The NFL, meanwhile, said referee Jim Tunney could have given the 49ers a second try at the field goal, but Tunney ruled the snowball did not interfere with Ray Wersching's attempt. ``There is something in the rulebook that would have allowed Tunney to replay the down,'' NFL spokesman Pete Abitante said. The vague rule gives the referee oversight and control over the game. Abitante said Art McNally, the league's supervisor of officials, interprets the rule to mean that ``if, in Tunney's judgment, the snowball had impaired Cavanaugh in any way, or distracted him, the down could have been replayed.'' After the game Tunney said the officials had ``no recourse in terms of a foul or to call it on the home team or the fans.'' But Abitante said Tunney was only responding to a question about calling a penalty on the crowd or the home team, and that he knew he did have the option of replaying the down. ``It's not that he wasn't aware of the rule,'' said Abitante. ``He just felt that the snowball did not interfere with the kick. Certainly, had Cavanaugh or Wersching been hit by the snowball, it would have been a different matter.'' Abitante predicted that the league might consider a more specific rule on the subject when owners meet this winter. As a postscript, during Denver's practice on Thursday, Coach Dan Reeves fired a snowball at holder Gary Kubiak on a field-goal try. ``Didn't bother him a bit,'' said Reeves. (reprinted without permission) Jim McCollum decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-latour!jmccollum
ekh@piggy.UUCP (E. K. Harvey Jr.) (11/18/85)
[line eater homage?] One small question about penalyzing home team fans for interference. How can you be sure it was a home team fan that interfered? Do we require that refs go into the stands and take depositions? While it is pretty clear with crowd noise that the home team fans are to blame, it only takes one jerk on either side to throw a bottle/snowball/orange etc. Gene Harvey (go PSU!)