KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -
The NFL owners have locked out their experienced referees and the replacement referees are botching call after call.
But fans are especially angry after the referees botched the Monday Night Football game, costing the Green Bay Packers a win over the Seattle Seahawks. That the integrity of the game is now in question is a common refrain.
"It boggles my mind," Kendall McReynolds said. "I understand they're doing their best but when their best is that bad, it's atrocious."
Some fans are vowing to quit the NFL and focus on watching NASCAR until experienced referees return. McReynolds is one of those.
But others say they are Chiefs fans no matter what.
"I'll watch them no matter what," Lloyd Stark said.
Dave Nash said the fans are the ones being punished by the lockout.
"The fans always get the short end of the stick because we pay exorbitant prices, and as far as I'm concerned the NFL is putting an inferior product on the field," Nash aid.
Others hope the national conversation will force both sides to reach an agreement. But sports radio host Danny Parkins said millions will again watch and attend NFL games this weekend.
"People have said they won't watch. We don't believe them. American culture is all about watching football on Sundays," Parkins said. "We watch football, we don't watch the refs. My guess is less than 1 percent of fans will take the moral high ground of changing the channel."
Parkins said the replacement referees should never have happened.
"This is a billion-dollar league that has a million-dollar problem," Parkins said. "I'm hoping this will be the watershed moment when all of a sudden the league realizes we need to fix it."
Stark agreed.
"You've got millions of dollars tied up in this. I don't understand why the owners aren't screaming their heads off," he said.
Copyright 2012 KCTV (Meredith Corp.) All rights reserved.
© Associated Press
