Shanks was a back judge and then aside judge. This meant that he was subject to many calls like the one that was clearly missed in Sunday’s 26-23 loss by the Los Angeles Rams to the New Orleans Saints. You saw it. With less than two minutes left, the game was tied at 20. The Saints were moving towards a possible winning score. Drew Brees passed Tommylee Lewis down the sideline. Nickell Robey Coleman, Rams’ defensive back, clobbered Lewis before the ball reached him. Robey-Coleman didn’t look back after he got the ball. Lewis was hit just a second before the ball arrived. He also hit Lewis helmet to helmet and could have been charged with a personal foul. Shanks stated, “Interference at minimum.” “Blatant interference. Given the circumstances, it was the most disastrous call or no-call that I have ever seen. They missed it.” The officials were only a few steps away from the Saints. If they had made the right call, the Saints could have gotten down three times and kicked a winning field goal in under 20 seconds. They kicked the field goal in one minute 41 seconds. The Rams still had time to drive for the tying goal. It was won by the Rams in overtime. Shanks claims that more than one official is to blame. Shanks stated that he can guarantee that more than one official saw the play and made the right call. Many officials follow the ball when it goes up in the air. This is where you, at the minimum, try to help your fellow. You ask: “Are you certain we didn’t have pass interference? I had a clear vision. It looked as if we saw it. Shanks said that this was probably because you had at least two or three sets of eyes that clearly saw what happened. We actually had more than 70,000 Superdome fans and millions of national TV viewers who saw it. Robey Coleman even admitted that interference should be called. Shanks stated, “That’s what you live for.” It’s a simple call. They just swallowed the whistles. They didn’t make an obvious decision. I don’t know anything else you could say about it. “Swallowing Your Whistle” is a term used by players and coaches to describe officials who have stopped breathing or were unable to call the call. Shanks stated, “There’s courage involved.” You have to be brave to make the right decision. You must want the ball to come to you in a tight situation. It’s similar to a baseball fielder. Some infielders desire the game-deciding groundball to be hit in their direction. Others wish it was hit somewhere else. This is a common occurrence in sports. Two types of players can be seen at the end of a basketball game. One is the one who wants to win the game, and the other is the one who won’t. Sometimes players will pass the ball around as if it were a hot potato at end. Everyone wants to win the decisive shot. “At the end, down in red zone, you must hope that the ball will come to your way. Shanks stated that this is what you’ve been trained for. That’s how you should be. This is your moment in life. You must be prepared. You must be ready. Psychologists say that it is human nature to consider acts of omission less harmful than those of commission. This means that we view inaction as being less harmful or blameworthy than action. We saw Sunday that inaction can be as destructive as action and just as harmful. It’s human error in any case. We had plenty of it Sunday, from players, coaches, and officials. This is true for both championship matches. However, Lewis and Robey Coleman’s no-call were the most glaring of all errors. This is how the Saints-Rams match will be remembered twenty years later. Sad.