A remarkable thing happened Monday night in the Texans-Raiders game in Mexico, a 27-20 Oakland win filled with questionable calls: there was some fan in control of a laser pointer the size of the death star repeatedly beaming a giant green light onto Texans players.
It wasn't just a distraction on the television -- Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler said after the game the pointer hit him in the eyes "a couple of times."
"I'm still gathering information on what exactly took place, but all I know at this point is when we were out there on the field on offense, there were multiple times I saw a green laser coming from the stands," Osweiler said. "There was a couple of times it definitely hit me in the eye. And it was very noticeable.
"I never want to say one thing is a difference-maker, but certainly, having a laser zoomed in on your eyeball definitely affects how you play a game."
It's been like five or 10 years since laser pointers were a thing, but they were back in a big way on Monday, as Osweiler and Lamar Miller, to name just two Houston players, were hit with the light over and over again.
Biggest laser pointer I've ever seen on #Texans Brock Osweiler. From the Death Star, apparently. pic.twitter.com/AzdIIpFqLt
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) November 22, 2016
Laser beams still aimed at Texans players heads. pic.twitter.com/QNn0y4q1kt
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) November 22, 2016
there's a fan using a laser pointer at the texans and raiders game pic.twitter.com/AJg3qg1Dmn
— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) November 22, 2016
This sort of got glossed over in the middle of the game as a "well what can you do?" situation, but combined with the referees hosing the Texans, this is a pretty clear case of an unfair advantage.
Azteca Stadium was jam-packed with Raiders fans, and the laser pointer was only being used on one team. If this was a quarterback who actually played well this year and started to make bad decisions as he was being hit with a green light, there would be an uproar.
Osweiler's been horrible most of the season -- although he did largely look better Monday night all things considered -- so there isn't as much of a concern for a drop-off.
The Texans didn't lose because someone in the stands had a giant laser pointer, but they certainly weren't helped by it.
"I've never experienced a laser being shined in my eyeball during a football game, let alone a professional football game in the National Football League," Osweiler said. "So, I think that was certainly disappointing. At the end of the day, that's not why we lost the game. That was just one small factor, but it certainly affected how I was playing."
No idea what you can do in this situation short of stopping the game, and finding the person with the laser pointer and kicking them out. That's much easier said than done, obviously.
But if you're the Texans, you see this loss and all the unfair advantages you got hit with and you wonder if you really got totally fair treatment during this game.