candukid
I went over the full context of this earlier, but I'll do it again. No, not crazy.
The official who didn't throw the flag lives in Ladera Ranch, CA...that is 53 miles from Los Angeles. Why is this a big deal? Context. The NFL put the Rams and Chargers in Los Angeles and nobody is calling either move a success.
The Rams/Chargers are opening a new FIVE billion+ stadium in 2 years in a market that hasn't been what NFL had hoped. How does the NFL drum up interest for the Los Angeles market? Putting a team in the Super Bowl where it gets unparalleled media attention for two straight weeks is a pretty good way. FIVE BILLION reasons for that ref to not make the call.
Not making that call gave incredible FREE marketing to the Los Angeles football market. The ramifications of that are unknown, but you can bet more than a few kids will grow up remembering their Rams in the Super Bowl. Had they called it correctly, untold number of kids and adults don't have that to draw from from the rest of their lives thus hurting Los Angeles football acceptance. The no-call has more ripple effect than any of us could possibly know.
To say that this guy wasn't instructed/paid to not make a call if one was his to get L.A. to the Super Bowl may sound insane but with what was on the line for Los Angeles is it really so crazy? No.
FIVE BILLION + citation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/vincentfrank/2018/03/27/new-los-angeles-rams-stadium-project-now-expected-to-cost-5-billion-to-build/#2d72cb0f13b2