NEW ORLEANS — After another controversial no-call from referees during Monday's opening game, fans were trying to figure out if it was incompetence or a conspiracy against the Saints. So we took the pulse of some fans around the city.
It was a discussion among many Saints fans all over and even in our newsroom this morning. Was the call simple human error, or a group of professionals who should have known and applied the time rules better?
The last major game the Saints played spawned everything from memes to a lawsuit after the "no call" from NFL refs drew universal ire from New Orleans.
That game was definitely still at the front of fans' minds this time. There were more black and white jerseys mocking the refs than there was black and gold.
"What we need now is a camera on the clock, right? laughed WWL Radio talk show host Newell Normand.
Normand took calls about the 'clock call' from angry fans, like Dean in Slidell.
"Why would an officiating crew not have accountability? There's a reason why. And you saw it last year on January 20th, buddy," said the caller.
And WWL Radio 'Sports Talk' co-host, Kristian Garic, said fans saw it, so why couldn't NFL officials and refs on the field, in the booth, and up in New York see it.
"They didn't understand the application of the rule, and that can't be the case when you are an NFL official. This is not high school," said Garic on the air.
Hopefully, this is not an indication of the continuation of bad or botched calls. This is two games in a row," announced Normand.
"It's was, 'Oh my gosh, it's happened again," laughed saints fan Mike Brewer of Copper Vine Wine Pub and Executive Chef of Brechtel Hospitality.
The same sentiment was on fans' minds at lunch time at Copper Vine Wine Pub on Poydras Street.
"It seems like the refs have it out for us. We, you know, the Minnesota miracle, then the Rams last year, the clock," said Brewer.
"Officials just hate New Orleans. I don't know why? They just hate us. We're nice people. We just want to drink with you," said Saints fan Keirston Besse.
"Watching the game, it just felt odd and off that the clock was 0:36 then 0:26 and then 0:16," said Peter Adelman, who went to his first Saints game in the Dome last night.
Garic said on the air, if the Saints had lost "given the no call and then the mismanagement of the clock last night, this city would be out for blood."