10 Ridiculous Refereeing Decisions That Almost Ruined NFL

5. Steelers-Lions Thanksgiving: He-Tails?

thanksgiving Fans can understand blowing plays. The tackle may or may not have been holding, the running back may or may not have stepped out of bounds. But a coin toss? You messed up a coin toss? Yes, a coin toss. Phil Luckett was the referee and will forever be remember infamously in Pittsburgh for the 1998 Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions. Tied at the end of regulation, Pittsburgh captain Jerome Bettis (yes, twice), calls "Tails" as the coin flips through the air, but unfortunately Luckett heard "Heads". As you might suspect, the Lions won the coin flip, and would go on to win the game. This game goes down in infamy simply because no one figured you could possibly screw up a coin toss. After Thanksgiving, teams made their call before the flip, but for screwing up a coin toss, this just hits that spot between stand-up comedy and schadenfreude that football fans just love.
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A recent graduate of Saint Anselm College, Jack is a playwright, fiction author and contributing writer to whatculture.com. An avid fan of theater, movies and the medium that is comic books, Jack is an award-winning lover of the English language.