Referee Terry McAulay is getting a crack at his third Super Bowl.
McAulay, who has officiated 12 career playoff games, including Super Bowls XXXIX and XLIII, will lead the seven-man crew working Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium, the NFL announced Wednesday, according to DenverBroncos.com.
Carl Paganelli (umpire), Jim Mello (head linesman), Tom Symonette (line judge), Scott Steenson (field judge), Dave Wyant (side judge) and Steve Freeman (back judge) will join McAulay. Together, the group has 110 years of NFL officiating experience and 76 total playoff games.
McAulay is known around Cleveland as the “Bottlegate” referee. He famously ended a game early between the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars after fans threw bottles onto the field in disgust. The 2001 contest featured some very questionable officiating late in the game regarding a replay on a fourth-and-1. This season, McAuley made headlines when he accidentally called the Kansas City Chiefs “Philadelphia,” perhaps forgetting head coach Andy Reid no longer coached the Eagles.
In a 2012 Bleacher Report article, McAulay was ranked 15th out of the 18 head officials.
Check out the “Bottlegate” debacle below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQjaPVwmnAM
Photo via Twitter/@PGPackersNews
