Seahawks-Packers 'Fail Mary' ref says he got call right
The referee in the infamous 2012 “Fail Mary” game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks insists he got the call right.
The two teams squared off in a Monday night game on Sept. 24, 2012 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. With the league's regular referees in a lockout, the NFL was using replacement officials.
On the final play of the game, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw a Hail Mary pass intended for Golden Tate, but both Tate and Packers safety M. D. Jennings caught the ball at the same time. Referee Lance Easley ruled the play a touchdown, handing the Seahawks a 14-12 victory. Two days later, the NFL and officials agreed to end the lockout.
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Easley says he thinks he got the call right.
"I guess I don't try to bring it up, but it comes up," Easley told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "They say that Franco Harris and the Immaculate Reception, that play came up 10 times a day. So people do talk to me about it."
Easley wrote a book about the incident and is a motivational speaker. He says he would eventually like to come to Green Bay for a visit.
“I’d love to come to Green Bay someday to speak with people and let them know, just share my heart with them," Easley says. "I'd just tell them that, 'Hey, this is what happened, this is what I saw from my perspective."
The same two teams open the NFL season on Thursday night.
- Scooby Axson
