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Danny O'Neil covers the Seahawks for The Seattle Times.

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January 25, 2009 2:13 PM

Steelers' owners response to criticism of Super Bowl XL officiating available on E-Bay

I was sent this E-Bay posting that gave me a chuckle. It's putting a letter from Steelers owner Dan Rooney responding to a fan who believed the officials were responsible for the Steelers winning Super Bowl XL.

The Seahawks fan mailed a letter to Paul Tagliabue, the league's commissioner at the time, listing the complaints regarding penalties that were called against Seattle and penalties that were not called on Pittsburgh. He included some media coverage of the officiating and he copied Rooney and Seahawks owner Paul Allen.

Here's what happened next, according to the E-Bay post:

"Just a couple weeks later I received a personal reply from Dan Rooney himself, which was copied to Commissioner Tagliabue, attempting to refute my concerns about the officiating. Mr. Rooney wrote, in part: 'You are something special -- you watch a TV broadcast of Super Bowl XL with all the interruptions, camera locations, replays, and now know more than anyone else in America on what was wrong with the officiating.'
"Wow! I guess I really got his attention and got under his skin! Mr. Rooney goes on to supplement the letter with a two-page 20-point explanation of why the Steelers 'really' did outplay the Seahawks for the Lombardi Trophy."

As for the appeal of the item? Here's his explanation:

"For Steelers fans, this would be a great acquisition to show your beloved owner giving the business to an uppity Seahawks fan who was complaining about the Super Bowl XL officiating. For Seahawks fans, this would likewise be a great acquisition conclusively demonstrating the insecurity of the Steelers over their supposed 'win.' "

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