ABC wouldn’t be able to charge as much for the commercials that air during the game.
You get the idea: The Chiefs doing well is good business.
Is it even possible to fix an NFL game?
You could, theoretically, fix a football game with a handful of crooked referees.
And football’s esoteric rules make it easy.
So there’s room for interpretation.
And it’s not likeit never happened before.
This is not an example of one:
It’s an incomplete pass.
Or it’s an interception.
One ref immediately says first down.
Even though a close reading shows it was, in fact, a first down.
This was the second first down the Bills earned in the same set of downs, by the way.
Check outthis “massive hit"in the Chief’s playoff game against the Houston Texans.
(Video only available on YouTube.)
Note the incredulity in the voices of the commentators and note Mahomes' obvious flop.
It sure looks like cheatingunless you’re a Chiefs fan.
The deluge of roughing-the-passer penalties?
Also strategic: Mahomes flops because it’s legal and it it works.
Putting extra importance on events that confirm our biases and ignoring the ones that don’t is human nature.
How many roughing-the-passer calls are made against other running quarterbacks?
Someone is probably keeping track, but fans aren’t too interested in a comparative analysis.
NFL teams are owned by different millionaires and billionaires, who likely wield as much power as the league.
They would not accept a rigged game (unless it was rigged in their team’s favor.)
This just leaves the refs.
He wasn’t trying to engineer victory for one squad over time.
Sure, especially since he flops around like a damn soccer player.
But are they doing it on purpose?
It’s the kind of job you’d want to keep.
You don’t want to get fired.
You want to be right.
People that say that don’t know a damn thing about officiating.
Until you put the uniform on, until you have to make those quick judgments.
… get off my train.
Thankfully, the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 will answer the question of NFL rigging once and for all.
