Posted on 01/26/2024 9:18:55 PM PST by lasereye
We have our theory as to how we got here: The relative incompetence of the NFL refs combined with the league's sudden embracing of gambling has created skepticism about the legitimacy of game results.
In other words, some NFL fans are now habitually accusing the league of "rigging" games - especially, of course, when that fan either loses by way of his team's failure, or loses a bet.
And now comes the AFC Championship Game, with the selection of the officiating crew for the Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens showdown ... and a respected NFL analyst floating the idea that the officiating crew being led by Shawn Smith means the league wants the Chiefs to win. ...
Because the league wants more Taylor Swift on TV?!
According to NFL analyst Warren Sharp, ref Smith has heavily favored the road team in recent years. NFL home teams have about a 50-percent win percentage. But in games called by Smith over the past couple of years, it's 40.8 percent, says Sharp.
He calls that advantage "outrageous'' as he writes ...
"The NFL pushed the panic button. They have a ref in their rotation who is a MASSIVE edge to road teams Road teams win at the #1 highest rate with him... He penalizes home teams in ways no other ref does... and... He's calling the Chiefs road game.''
Sharp's copy doesn't mention the pop star Swift, girlfriend of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and an attention- and ratings-getter due to her presence at Kansas City's game. But the hint is there as Sharp uses her photo in his graphic: The NFL, he is suggesting, wants the Chiefs in the Super Bowl because the NFL wants Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl.
(Excerpt) Read more at si.com ...
On a level playing field, the Ravens and Niners would likely make the SB.
My grandfather was the same way. Said the NFL was fixed and would only watch college FB.
Hard to put much faith in the author’s opinion when (he/she/it) thinks the Chiefs are based in Kansas.
On Any Given Sunday.....
Are you basing that comment on what the MEDIA tells you, or have you personally met them and spent time with them ???
I know, I was there.
I’m a belieber! Oops, wrong superstar.
Stop believing that Sports are a Sport. Rather they are an Entertainment Venue and should be treated as such. Nothing more.
I can actually see them staying together. He’s the most manly man she’s dated, protective, has his own successful career, both know each other’s families, and Taylor is getting up in age if she wants to settle down and start a family.
Once LEGALIZED GAMBLING became part of Sports MANY, MANY things CHANGED!
Like the Cyndi Lauper song from decades ago... "Money Changes Everything!"
I predict this will all disintegrate and Taylor Swift will suddenly be SO YESTERDAY (and become a thoroughly despised celebrity) and she will be blamed for destroying the NFL.
All glory is fleeting. When you become “bigger than big,” there is only one direction left...DOWN.
Michael Jackson was the biggest singing star in the universe, too, until suddenly, he wasn’t.
it's all set up to entice gambling even during the games...the house won big money enticing people to bet on the rams vs the lions until they got enough betting in to make a killing..all they had to do is tell the refs not to call penalties on the lions.. its all about the spread.
it makes me sad because I was enjoying the season buy no more.
The game is rigged for the ravens to win...they need a very black qb to win, not just some half white brown guy.they Dave been pushing Jackson since the fall....be prepared for endless black superiority reports.....but I will not watch.
Not really, they just need to beat the cheat like Republicans running for office.
A fish rots from the head, down. This nation’s government is irredeemably corrupt, why shouldn’t everything else be the same?
Well... As much as everybody who hated to see TB go to 10 Super Bowls in 21 years of playing and win 7, the league has gone from $4 billion in revenue in 2001 to about $18 billion in revenue this year... Mahomes is the new Brady, and you know what that means? He has to go to the Super Bowl again.
Parity is preached in the NFL, but seldom practiced. This is Mahomes’s 6th AFC Championship in a row... Brady went to 8 in a row and to 13 AFC and 1 NFC championship over 23 years, 2 of which he didn’t even play. That’s what casual fans want to see, and that’s what the NFL will continue trying to deliver if they can.
I was just referring to a “level playing field” situation.
The NFL would love Lamar Jackson to emerge as a legit star too, but I think Taylor Swift is the bigger factor this year for the NFL’s motivation.
I've liked the Chiefs since Super Bowl 1, but I don't think they have much of a chance against the Ravens.
It would be a huge blow to the NFL, and sports in general, if it came out that the refs had orders to call the game for one side or the other.
Post 21: that’s my prediction.
I hope that, or Ravens/Lions, is the outcome.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.