One of the most controversial endings in NFC Championship Game history has sprung one of the NFL's most passionate fanbases into full-sprung action.
An online petition on Change.org, started by Mississippi resident Terry Cassreino, calling for a rematch of Sunday's title game on Jan. 27 is nearing a half-million signatures, having collected more than 460,000 as of 9 p.m. Monday night.
"Refs missed a blatant pass interference call against the Los Angeles Rams late in fourth quarter of Jan. 20 NFC Championship game, possibly costing New Orleans Saints a trip to the SuperBowl," Cassreino wrote on the petition, referring to the controversial no-call by Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman on the Saints' Tommylee Lewis -- one that Robey-Coleman himself makes no effort to hide was blatantly a P.I. call.
"Due to refs’ inability to properly officiate at the game, we the undersigned want a re-match against L.A. on Sunday, Jan. 27. It’s the only fair solution to this travesty of epic proportions."
Cassreino, a journalism teacher at St. Joseph Catholic School in Madison, Miss., started the petition last night and shared it on Facebook. The response was immediately overwhelming, to his surprise.
"The way the game ended was so disappointing and so frustrating," Cassreino told the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger. "I was just looking for something to do and I thought I would put together a petition to change that order, not that I expected anything to happen from it."
It's inconceivable that this would happen. But as Mike Florio points out on Pro Football Talk, in theory NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would have the power to do this:
Gulp.
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