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“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars” Jack Kerouac

It’s Tuesday now, two days displaced from Ed Hochuli’s blunder. Chargers fans were furious yesterday. Has their madness subsided?

It has in Norv Turner, who looked eerily like Al Gore on November 5, 2000. “Anything that we talk about or anything that is discussed in terms of any of the rules or any of the calls, isn’t going to change the outcome of that game,” Turner submitted. “That game is going to be 39-38 forever.” However, there was still some sense of madness from an unexpected source.

“That particular official gets a lot of criticism. [Ed Hochuli] is a highly criticized official in the NFL,” Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones said.

But the most resonating support came from Chargers Nation, and surprisingly also from NFL Nation. So far, our makeshift petition has almost 500 supporters in its first day. There is also another petition circling. I think everyone can agree that NFL referees should be held accountable for unprofessional performance. I leave it to your comments to determine whether Monday’s reaction from the NFL was appropriate.

Did the NFL chastise Hochuli, or grant him a get-out-of-jail-free card?

I leave you with some of my favorite mad comments from Chargers and NFL Nation in response to yesterday’s post . Diverse sentiments indeed. One thing we can all agree on is that Ed Hochuli’s decision was incorrect, even Ed may himself.

My Favorite Comment by James Fingerman:

“Give credit to the Denver camera crew for literally pulling the plug on the cameras to prevent in their eyes another ass kicking in mile high. Takes guts to do that. Hochuli should be either suspended for the year or made a permanent side judge.” James Fingerman

Simply Mad:

“Ed Hochuli should be released of his duties just like any player would be if they didn’t perform well. The NFL received a black eye yesterday because it can’t say that Denver’s win was legitimate. That call and the other replay mistake reek of ‘home town’ bias.” Coach

“Hochuli blew the whistle, blew the game and blew his professional reputation. I certainly home he’s a better lawyer than ref.” LouAnn Larsen

Literary Madness:

“The horror………………….the horror.” Sara

“The kicker is, Shanahan didn’t even complain, which is like the dog that didn’t bark in the famous Sherlock Holmes story (the killer was the homeowner, and the dog knew him, which is why the dog didn’t bark).” Darren

Scornful Madness:

“Mister Ed you suck! Get your head out of your ass and start watching the game! You blew the whistle, you blew the game…and you can blow me!” Ken Howard

“Ed, you’re supposed to manage the game not affect it directly. Get some humility and stick the whistle in your pocket until the end of the play. I understand that you’re real excited to get on the microphone and show the TV world how big your guns are but let the players play. You’re a stage-hand!” Chuck Boon

A Mad Conspiracy:

“This game was fixed. FBI should look into it. Why wouldn’t a check be done before the start of the game for the equipment performance. Was Denver involved in this? Also why would the Referee make such a blatant mistake in the end? Chargers were winning and the bets on this game should be checked to see which way they were placed.” Kamran Azimzadeh

“This one really smells to high heaven. It’s got Tim Donaghy (the disgraced NBA referee) written all over it. Terrible.” Darren

Rhetorical Madness:

“Most frustrating call I’ve ever seen. I dont give a damn if a whistle was blown, especially when it was clearly a fumble, and Ed ADMITTED it was a fumble. Is the whistle the all knowing, seeing hand of God or something? Even when it was clearly blown in error?” Jeremy R.

NFL Nation:

“Your petition states that we as fans expect ‘near flawless’ performance of the officials, and that’s exactly what we got. Near-flawless. Mistakes happen.” Midavis00

“This game needs to be given back to San Diego no matter what the rules state. The commissioner needs to step in and put an end to this corruption. I am a Pats fan and was completely disgusted when I saw that on television. The man should be fired, this is not high school ball it is a multi-billion dollar industry, some old bag like Ed that can probably barely see 20 feet in front of him. [He] shouldn’t be able to blatantly throw a game like that.” Nick

Disbelief:

“This was the worst officiating I’ve seen from one of the best officials. The NFL should not tolerate bad officiating and must fine and/or suspend the referees who alter the game with obviously blown calls.” Sean Bennett