It was an exciting atmosphere in the locker room following the Patriots 27-24 defeat of the Ravens on Monday night. New England and the referees from the game engaged in the usual post-match celebration antics. Towels were whipped, loud victory music played, and even a little champaign poured on the heads of some of the refs as the Patriots kept their perfect season alive and moved to 12-0.

Bill Belichick interrupted the fun with an announcement, "I want to give the game ball from tonight, to the men who earned it the most. When the game looked like it was nearly lost, when we were stopped 3 times on that final drive on 4th downs, you guys stepped up and brought us back from the abyss. This one goes to the refs!"

Cheers erupted from the locker room for their all-stars from that night. The head referee took a moment to speak, "Thank you everyone. We played a tough one out there today. We had to make up some calls at times to make sure you guys could stay in the game. Illegal hands to the chop block, roughing the false start, pass-interference-facemask-unabated to the tight end. But we hope no one will find out these calls made no sense until it's too late to reverse the score or anything. We want to thank you guys for acting like a penalty should be called after every bad play, to give us an excuse for throwing a flag. You guys are the best! Hey Tom, can you sign my daughter's t-shirt for me?"

While everything was happy with the Pats, the Baltimore locker room was a different story. "We came so close," said a disappointed Brian Billick. "We studied hours and hours of tape on these referees, but they threw some new stuff at us tonight we just weren't ready for. Penalizing the team 15 yards to start the game because I wasn't wearing a sweatshirt, that was a little harsh."

Despite all the one-sided calls early on, Baltimore still had a chance late when a hail mary play got them down to the 3 yard line of New England. But from out of nowhere a sideline judge dove onto the field and tackled Mark Clayton to the ground. "It's all about making a good hit and wrapping up your man", said the enthusiastic judge after the game. "Coach Belichick always tells us to hit them hard and take down the legs, and that's just what I did. I think we're on our way to history, and a Super Bowl."

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"Coach, when I said I don't think we can get any closer during this conversation, I didn't actually want you to try. This is just getting awkward and embarassing." - Kyle Boller

"That is what I feel like every day having you as my QB." -Brian Billick

(AP Photo/Gail Burton)

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