View topic - Why the NFL Cheated this Weekend

[Matthew1516 Profile]

Why the NFL cheated this weekend. Let me break it down for you. Be patient as I dissect the conspiracy.

You have to understand that the NFL under Darth Goodell is not a pure sport anymore, but a sports entertainment business. Like any entertainment business, including "reality TV" or the news -- there are preferred narratives. It's not scripted, but there is a theme that the organization would like to advance. To advance the narrative, the league doesn't openly "cheat" in a brazen manner. It just has its finger on the scales. If a game is close, the preferred team gets that holding call, or that pass interference call, two or three times in the game. That's all it takes.

Last year, it was supposed to be Peyton's redemption as he steamrolled his way to the Super Bowl, and beating the Seahawks was supposed to be his crowning achievement. Except he couldn't, and the game went south fast, and there was nothing the league could plausibly do to change it.

This year's emerging narrative is the return of the Cowboys, and Tony Romo's redemption. Dallas is one of the iconic brands in pro sports, and its revival is a great story and moneymaker for the league. Romo is telegenic, famous for both talent and repeated failure. He is one of the league's identifiable celebrities. Why on earth would the league want a resurgent Dallas franchise to lose to Detroit? The Lions are noted cheaters and thugs, repeatedly fined for stomping on people and throwing punches. They are a small market with a tiny fan base. The league doesn't care about Matthew Stafford or Megatron. They are nice players and they can fill enough seats in the regular season, but they are nothing compared to the Cowboys.

That is why that flag got picked up. Detroit gets the first down, they probably win the game, and the NFL is stuck with the rogue Lions instead of the massively popular Cowboys.

But, you may ask, why then would the league similarly cheat the Steelers? Why would the league give the Steelers over one hundred yards in penalties than the rough and tumble Ravens? The Steelers are an iconic, historic brand with a massive fan base. Why cheat them? Wouldn't a Steelers-Cowboys Super Bowl be a ratings winner for a fourth time?

Let me explain. What is the greatest public relations burden for the league this year? The Ray Rice story, and similar stories of domestic abuse or sexual assault. Ben Roethlisberger has been dogged with two false, baseless accusations of sexual assault in his career. Anyone who has read "To Kill a Mockingbird" knows that there are instances where women lie about sexual assault. The cops know this, which is why Big Ben was never charged. But or some, the mere allegation will always be enough.

So to put it bluntly, this was not a year where the league wants Big Ben answering questions at the Super Bowl about sexual assault or domestic abuse. That's a nightmare scenario for the league -- to have more questions on these issues at their marquis event, the most widely watched event in America every year. So the officiating crew called no pass interference or holding calls against the Ravens, while calling several against the Steelers. In a close competition, this is all it takes. It's not Big Ben's year, not his narrative. Better luck next year Steelers.

[Coke Oven Profile]

I could not agree with you more. I would take your analysis a step further, though. With the way the game is structured now, intentionally, with the coordinators calling all of the offensive plays and the defensive sets and strategies, there are only 4 people on each team who have to be "in on it" so to speak. They being the owner, head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators. That way the nfl can easily specify who the losers are to be in any "contest", with the goal of optimizing revenue from the tv advertisers. The signs that this is going on are subtle but clear. In addition to blatant cheating on the part of the officials, some of the signs are:
stupid loose coverage on defense
stupid repeated calling running plays when the defense is stacked against it
lethargic play due to poor team preparation
dumb as hell clock management
benching key players
etc.

Now other posters who refuse to see any of this will come out and attempt to ridicule and pooh pooh these ideas. That's the easy part. That's because some of the people can be fooled all of the time. The challenge, though, is for them to refute rather than try to belittle.

[Pommah Profile]

While I believe in the "preferred narrative" line and that it is an entertainment business, I don't think there is a deciding cabal that determines who wins and loses each year, or even each game. Maybe sometimes, maybe Dallas was "supposed" to win that game, but it doesn't apply to each and every game or season.

The NFL's image problem is far greater with the Rats than the Steelers, the Rice incident is this year, Ben's foibles were years ago. The Steelers have one of the largest national audiences. If it were a total conspiracy about who is better for making money for the NFL and who would be better for the NFL's image, it would have been tilted for the Steelers, not the Rats.

The NFL owners are all either billionaires of their own right or inheritors of NFL franchises from guys who built the league. It's a boys' club, with all the same dynamics of your local Elks Hall, Country Club, or even Fortune 500 upper management tier, just at a far greater level. Is everything on the complete up and up? Of course not. But you can't possibly correlate what you see in any given game to the dynamics of what's going on in that uber-boys club.

[LenSherwood Profile]

I don't know if it is WWE fixed, but I do wonder whether the NFL won't get to where it is scripted like the NBA... which I can't stand because it is tilted so far toward superstars that Memphis is only there to be the Washington Generals. Can you reach a day where the NFL is as bad as that... for sure where games are called to make sure that superstars win a la the NBA... yeah definitely. It has kind of gotten that way a bit as superstar QBs might as well wear a dress because they are going to get protected. Roethelisburger is not in the category though as his co ed dating blew that.

[PGHeaven Profile]

Naaah - cmon you Yinzers! You got to go big with theories - none of this housewifes of Atlanata bullshit

If there was any conspiracy - it has way more to do with the cradle to grave nanny state being imposed on the NFL as a by product of the Statist Liberal progressive machine trying to kill off one of last remaining scrotum enlarging sport venues left in the good old USA. You want to cuntilate America? Ruin football!!!

This all started when Melon Head Mike Turica carried the referee unions water when he eviscerated the replacement refs. THEY WERE BETTER THAN THE CURRENT ZEBRA CABAL! No - this is about the ZEBRAS acting a the political arm of the Social movement. The poster boys for hard hitting football? YES! The Stillers!

What is ironic is the fcat that the Stillars last big hitter James Harrison - has been castrated by the myriad rule changes - he is THE LAST. All current Steelers are now pussified metrosexual ObamaCare types.

We are blue collar anymore! We are Mao collar!

[Ron Burgundy Profile]

Exactly. Thumb on the scales. I don't think the NFL blatantly fixes games, nor do I think the coaches are in on it other than they know what's up but keep quiet to keep their jobs, but I do think the refs get a call about what the league would like the desired outcome to be. Doesn't always happen because sometimes a team or player (P. Manning, Romo) plays like shit anyway and can't take advantage. I don't follow the NBA at all but for years NASCAR has doled out occasional favors to teams who needed a good finish in order to keep a big sponsor or keep a popular driver in the points and that fuel tank that is a gallon too large gets overlooked.