doyou think the NFL is slightly rigged?

[SB06CHARGERS]

I didn't think so before butin 2001 the PATRIOTS won the Super Bowl, and now New Orleans has gone from worst to first. Im not the first to think this Iveheard it on Baltimore's forum and numerous other teams.

[mef31]

its not rigged its just the Football Gods response to troubling times in America.

[mike1480]

Yes, the secret club of... how many thousands of football players, coaches, and executives would need to be involved in?

Doubtful.

[LV_BOLT]

Please stop validating these terrible threads with actual posts.

[shrike3000]

This whole thought process is beyond insulting to players, coaches and fans everywhere. No, the NFL is not rigged, sometimes nice storylines develop. That's it.

[jamesbond]

Is WWF slightly rigged?
Is the Rollerderby slightly rigged?
The answer to all 3 questions is 'absolutely yes'.
Some of you should re-watch 'Quiz Show', brought to you by, Geritol.

[WonderSlug]

The games are rigged? You mean the OC's and DC's gameplans have nothing to do with how the game is won or lost?

So, according to this theory, when the 2001 Patriots beat the Rams in the Super Bowl, it was rigged because of 9/11? It wasn't because the Pats forced 3 Rams turnovers which led to 17 of their 20 points? It also wasn't because the Rams' kicker missed a FG in the game, where if it would have been good, the Pats would have only tied the game 20-20 to send it into OT instead of winning it 20-17 with that final FG?

As for penalties in that game, both teams were penalized about the same. The Rams got 6 penalties for 39 yards, the Patriots 5 penalties for 31 yards.

Now, had there been a huge discrepancy, say the Rams getting 10 penalties for 110 yards, and the Patriots 1 penalty for 5 yards, and there were no turnovers, and no missed FG, I might buy that idea of a subconsciously rigged game.

[daboltz]

if the NFL was rigged then the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals would have at least been in the playoffs a long time ago

[WonderSlug]

if the NFL was rigged then the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals would have at least been in the playoffs a long time ago

If the NFL was rigged, the Saints wouldn't have gone 3-13 last year after Katrina hit and wouldn't have had to play a "home" game versus the Giants in New York. :rolleyes:

In addition, if the NFL was rigged, the Saints would have won all their home games this season, instead of going 4-4. ;)

[SB06CHARGERS]

Please stop validating these terrible threads with actual posts.

who made you judgeof credible threads?

[MOCHARGERFAN]

Its all acting...like Hollywood. They told L.T. to act like the best running back. And he did!

[LV_BOLT]

who made you judgeof credible threads?

I don't mean just your terrible threads; I mean all terrible threads.

[rammerjammer]

"Slightly rigged?" Is that the same thing as being "sort of pregnant?":rolleyes:

[daboltz]

who made you judgeof credible threads?


it's getting hot in here.

[Sanitation Man]

I don't mean just your terrible threads; I mean all terrible threads.

LOL! Well said. :Beer:

[o-line protag]

I often think of, when the conversation of fixing games in the NFL comes up, stuffing a record number of hard boiled eggs down my gullet. Because that is the only thing that would make me puke more than the notion that the NFL is rigged. Ask Igor's knee if it's rigged after surgery, ask Castillo's ankle, ask Goff's surgically repaired middle finger, ask McNeill's two broken hands if they are rigged...it's all just a set up. Open the X-files. The smoking man has stolen the show. The truth is out there. I BELIEVE.



Uggghh...[insert smiley vomit w/egg here]

[Sanitation Man]

I believe MLB, NBA, and the NHL made you start this thread.

[benji929]

As unbelievable as this sounds, there are other people out there who actually believe that the NFL is rigged. Sometimes, conspiracy theorists need to use some common sense. How exactly would the NFL rig games? Referees alone can't do it. Is every player, coach, and assistant in the league in on the conspiracy? And somehow, none of them have ever leaked out that there's a conspiracy going on?

Secondly, why would the NFL even want to rig games in favor of the Patriots or the Saints? They're not making any more money if those teams succeed, certainly not enough to cover the expenses needed to successfully rig a whole league.. Yeah, they become feel-good stories, but why the heck would the NFL care about feel good stories?

[mk87]

Didn't we go from worst to first?

[o-line protag]

Didn't we go from worst to first? Indeed we did mk...

it's a conspiracy I tell ya...a damn conspiracy...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l43/olineprotag/olpsig1.jpg


I Believe

[TJ21]

"Slightly rigged?" Is that the same thing as being "sort of pregnant?":rolleyes:
"Sort of" is the most troubling phrase in American culture. Attach it to the end of anything and the meaning changes drastically. Such as: "I've always been faithful to you..." or "You're in perfect health..."

[rammerjammer]

"Sort of" is the most troubling phrase in American culture. Attach it to the end of anything and the meaning changes drastically. Such as: "I've always been faithful to you..." or "You're in perfect health..."

Agreed! Though I think "slightly" and its root word can have the same connotation in some circumstances: "we have a slight problem;" "i have been slightly faithful to you ..." etc.

[vendetta07]

I don't think it's rigged in the sense that teams are chosen to win certain games. But sometimes I feel that they (the refs) like to keep some games close on purpose like when we played @ denver last year and a punt return for a td was called back because players on the benches got excited and came on the field too early for the extra point. also, i think that the refs can be intimidated or unconsciously influenced by the home crowd.

[drangus]

As unbelievable as this sounds, there are other people out there who actually believe that the NFL is rigged. Sometimes, conspiracy theorists need to use some common sense. How exactly would the NFL rig games? Referees alone can't do it. Is every player, coach, and assistant in the league in on the conspiracy? And somehow, none of them have ever leaked out that there's a conspiracy going on?

Secondly, why would the NFL even want to rig games in favor of the Patriots or the Saints? They're not making any more money if those teams succeed, certainly not enough to cover the expenses needed to successfully rig a whole league.. Yeah, they become feel-good stories, but why the heck would the NFL care about feel good stories?


I think rigged is too strong a word to use, if I had to agree with that term I would say no, but I do feel that the NFL exerts

a certain amount of 'influence' on what unfolds on the field on any given game--that doesn't mean that this happens in

every game, you have to remember that the league is driven by TV money just like your favorite shows, you would be really

naive if you didn't realize the impact that story-lines have on viewership, therefore feel-good stories, which are a staple of

American culture, play such a prominent role in the NFL, much the same way that they play a role in our news coverage and on

our favorite TV shows, some stories make themselves (katrina) and others are artificially created by the media to enhance

viewership, don't think for a second that the NFL is devoid of this, they have transformed league coverage to attract people

from all walks of life male and female--the beauty of the NFL is that it already makes for high drama just because the

careers of the players are so short and can end on any given play, this causes massive amounts of change from one

year to the next, this kind of change is good because it keeps people interested and wondering what will happen next

The NFL provides some of the best "entertainment" in this country, but don't think for a second that the league will not do

whatever it deems necessary to keep people watching, last years superbowl was a perfect example, do you remember who

really beat the seahawks? that's right, the refs did, why? maybe because the steelers where a better story than the hawks

Who wouldn't want to see Bettis finally get his ring and to do it in his own home town? the answer is everyone wanted to see

that happen, feel-good? damn straight, remember the tuck rule? remember how the patriot corners where allowed to break

every rule in the book during the superbowl? 99 times out of a 100 that ram team wipes the floor with that patriot team-why?

Why does an inferior team named the PATRIOTS win the superbowl in a year when the country has been attacked by terrorists?

feel-good, maybe, ironic, yes--was it a great story? you bet, tom brady and his crew became a symbol of patriotism and our

national sentiments toward the overwhelming wave of terrorism worldwide, they were also an underdog, which made it

that much more symbolic--in a league where the rules seem so open to interpretation, and in which illegal plays seem

to be tolerated on every play so that they can be called whenever the need arises (holding is one) it gives the NFL the

capacity to 'influence' the outcomes of games, you still need talent to succeed in the NFL, the league is going to

help any organization that commits itself to excellence because those are the teams that drive the ratings, put a good

team together that people like to watch and the league is going to have your back, period this is why I truly hope that

this current charger team has captured the imagination of the nation, "Marty finally gets his ring!" (headline) after a career of

bitter sweet frustration, he embodies the american spirit of persevirence, sounds like a great story to me, what do you think?

[benji929]

I think rigged is too strong a word to use, if I had to agree with that term I would say no, but I do feel that the NFL exerts

a certain amount of 'influence' on what unfolds on the field on any given game--that doesn't mean that this happens in

every game, you have to remember that the league is driven by TV money just like your favorite shows, you would be really

naive if you didn't realize the impact that story-lines have on viewership, therefore feel-good stories, which are a staple of

American culture, play such a prominent role in the NFL, much the same way that they play a role in our news coverage and on

our favorite TV shows, some stories make themselves (katrina) and others are artificially created by the media to enhance

viewership, don't think for a second that the NFL is devoid of this, they have transformed league coverage to attract people

from all walks of life male and female--the beauty of the NFL is that it already makes for high drama just because the

careers of the players are so short and can end on any given play, this causes massive amounts of change from one

year to the next, this kind of change is good because it keeps people interested and wondering what will happen next

The NFL provides some of the best "entertainment" in this country, but don't think for a second that the league will not do

whatever it deems necessary to keep people watching, last years superbowl was a perfect example, do you remember who

really beat the seahawks? that's right, the refs did, why? maybe because the steelers where a better story than the hawks

Who wouldn't want to see Bettis finally get his ring and to do it in his own home town? the answer is everyone wanted to see

that happen, feel-good? damn straight, remember the tuck rule? remember how the patriot corners where allowed to break

every rule in the book during the superbowl? 99 times out of a 100 that ram team wipes the floor with that patriot team-why?

Why does an inferior team named the PATRIOTS win the superbowl in a year when the country has been attacked by terrorists?

feel-good, maybe, ironic, yes--was it a great story? you bet, tom brady and his crew became a symbol of patriotism and our

national sentiments toward the overwhelming wave of terrorism worldwide, they were also an underdog, which made it

that much more symbolic--in a league where the rules seem so open to interpretation, and in which illegal plays seem

to be tolerated on every play so that they can be called whenever the need arises (holding is one) it gives the NFL the

capacity to 'influence' the outcomes of games, you still need talent to succeed in the NFL, the league is going to

help any organization that commits itself to excellence because those are the teams that drive the ratings, put a good

team together that people like to watch and the league is going to have your back, period this is why I truly hope that

this current charger team has captured the imagination of the nation, "Marty finally gets his ring!" (headline) after a career of

bitter sweet frustration, he embodies the american spirit of persevirence, sounds like a great story to me, what do you think?
I had a lot of trouble reading that, but I managed to skim through it..

Ok, lets take your Pittsburgh example. How does Pittsburgh winning help increase the NFL's revenue at all? The same number people watched the Superbowl either way, whether Seattle or Pittsburgh won. The Steelers' victory did nothing to enhance the game's rating. Their participation in itself might have, but then you would have to go through all of their games up to the Superbowl and find refereeing mistakes in their favor. Look at the Indy game, and the Polamalu non-interception. He clearly caught the ball, and the yet the refs ruled it against Pittsburgh. How does the conspiracy theory explain that? Was it predetermined that Nick Harper would run right into Ben R. at the end and thus saving the win for Pittsburgh? That's a hell of a conspiracy, if true.

Secondly, let's look at your New England example. If their ascent to the Superbowl in 2002 was because of 9/11, then why are they still one of the top teams in the league 5 years later? Is the league still banking on their patriotic appeal? Can it be that maybe, just maybe, they won because they were talented and played well?

And finally, if the league really is influencing games on purpose by trying to create drama with the Steelers and the Patriots, then they're doing a damn poor job of it. The Rams-Titans Superbowl drew a far higher Nielsen rating then any of the games involving the Patriots or the Steelers. Obviously, storylines aren't all that useful in increasing viewership.

Oh, and if we are judging the winner by storyline, then we might as well hand the Superbowl to Saints right now. No one can compete with them in the feel-good department.

[NoFriends760]

While some far-fetched things come true in all professional sports, this is just an example of the media exploiting every and any storyline they can to highten the intensity and maybe the ratings up for the games. A journalist/reporters job is to research all the variables that may sound appealing to your general audience. Why do you think during commentary of any pro sports contest the commentators knows who birthday it is? Knows which athletes have kids with mental/physical disabilities? Knows who's wedding anniversaries, and who's parents just passed away 7 years ago to the day?? They find these details and they exploit them to their advantage trying to increase viewership, and most the time these details are released more matter of factly then actually hyped up pre-game time.

That's my opinion on the issue. But no way is it rigged... ARE KIDDING ME?!?!?!