NFL Question

[fernweh]

So I generally don’t care for football and don’t watch or pay attention unless it’s our local team (the Lions). Since they generally don’t do well I am tuned out well before this point in the season.
I keep seeing things on social media with people talking about the NFL being scripted. Is this something people actually believe? Has it always been a belief or is it something new this year and where did it come? I have never heard of this before but again I usually don’t pay attention to the playoff/Super Bowl because we don’t make it this far. Can someone explain this to me?

[heygrey]

Of course people think it's scripted when things don't go their way. There are definitely times when it seems like the refs are calling penalties (or not calling) which favours a certain team and can affect the outcome of a game. Overall the NFL is a for profit business so it makes sense that they will try to maximize profits by giving prime spots to certain teams and advertising particular matchups.

But I don't think it's scripted. There are too many people involved and too many variables like injuries to actually script how a game or an entire season will go.

[pixy0stix]

I've never heard this before. People will make a conspiracy about anything.

[purplepenguin7]

two words...Taylor Swift. The Chiefs last playoff game (last Sunday) was the most watched divisional football game ever. 50,000 50 million people watched that game, which is unheard of in TV ratings outside of the Super Bowl.

Many people believe her relationship with Travis Kelce is fake/PR and the Chiefs are being favored/pushed to win so that she will continue to attend games, their relationship will be on display, etc.

Prior to the start of this season the NFL was said to be trying to attract more women to the sport...and well they did.

I'm not saying I believe any of this, but this is common theory I've heard.

editing to add, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl so it's not far fetched that they would be doing well this year but still it's definitely something going around. 

[fernweh]

Jan 24, 2024 11:19:50 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

two words...Taylor Swift. The Chiefs last playoff game (last Sunday) was the most watched divisional football game ever. 50,000 people watched that game, which is unheard of in TV ratings outside of the Super Bowl.

Many people believe her relationship with Travis Kelce is fake/PR and the Chiefs are being favored/pushed to win so that she will continue to attend games, their relationship will be on display, etc.

Prior to the start of this season the NFL was said to be trying to attract more women to the sport...and well they did.

I'm not saying I believe any of this, but this is common theory I've heard.

editing to add, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl so it's not far fetched that they would be doing well this year but still it's definitely something going around. 

This seems crazy to me. I like Taylor Swift (though by no means consider myself a “swiftie”) but I can’t imagine spending 3 hours watching a game I don’t have interest in to see a few camera shots of Taylor. I mean, I believe that there are probably people that do it but I can’t imagine liking any artist that much.

[prettypitties]

I've heard a lot of conspiracy theories relating to the colors in the Super Bowl logo. For example, last year's logo was red and green and it happened to be Eagles vs Chiefs. This year's logo is red and purple, so the conspiracy theorists think that must mean that the Ravens (purple) and 49ers (red) will be in the big game. *eye roll*

[megamous]

i think it was last year, A.J. Brown, a former NFL player that has made questionable choices (maybe mental health related or CTE) had kind of a rant and said the NFL is scripted. After that, a lot of memes have been made about it. So that is part of it.

[purplepenguin7]

Jan 24, 2024 11:29:51 GMT -5 fernweh said:

Jan 24, 2024 11:19:50 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

two words...Taylor Swift. The Chiefs last playoff game (last Sunday) was the most watched divisional football game ever. 50,000 people watched that game, which is unheard of in TV ratings outside of the Super Bowl.

Many people believe her relationship with Travis Kelce is fake/PR and the Chiefs are being favored/pushed to win so that she will continue to attend games, their relationship will be on display, etc.

Prior to the start of this season the NFL was said to be trying to attract more women to the sport...and well they did.

I'm not saying I believe any of this, but this is common theory I've heard.

editing to add, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl so it's not far fetched that they would be doing well this year but still it's definitely something going around. 

This seems crazy to me. I like Taylor Swift (though by no means consider myself a “swiftie”) but I can’t imagine spending 3 hours watching a game I don’t have interest in to see a few camera shots of Taylor. I mean, I believe that there are probably people that do it but I can’t imagine liking any artist that much.

there are a lot of people (women) who are. there is a clear increase in viewing whenever she attends a game.

[eddy]

I will say the Kelce brothers and their podcast New Heights have me way more interested in NFL this year. They make it really fun to connect what is going on with their normal charming banter.

So I wouldn't say it is totally the TS effect, although I am a Swiftie. I think all of it has brought more people to the table and are legit interested in outcomes.

But no I don't think anything is scripted.

I am normally a college football girl. Really paying attention to the NFL is new to me.

[Bernadine]

The only person I know who believes it’s scripted is a Q Anon believer as well.

[wildrice]

Jan 24, 2024 11:29:51 GMT -5 fernweh said:

Jan 24, 2024 11:19:50 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

two words...Taylor Swift. The Chiefs last playoff game (last Sunday) was the most watched divisional football game ever. 50,000 people watched that game, which is unheard of in TV ratings outside of the Super Bowl.

Many people believe her relationship with Travis Kelce is fake/PR and the Chiefs are being favored/pushed to win so that she will continue to attend games, their relationship will be on display, etc.

Prior to the start of this season the NFL was said to be trying to attract more women to the sport...and well they did.

I'm not saying I believe any of this, but this is common theory I've heard.

editing to add, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl so it's not far fetched that they would be doing well this year but still it's definitely something going around. 

This seems crazy to me. I like Taylor Swift (though by no means consider myself a “swiftie”) but I can’t imagine spending 3 hours watching a game I don’t have interest in to see a few camera shots of Taylor. I mean, I believe that there are probably people that do it but I can’t imagine liking any artist that much.

Also - she is a billionaire who is so incredibly successful that getting tickets to her tour is basically a sport on it's own. She doesn't need the money or the exposure so why would she even do that? She is busy enough. I hate this kind of theory because it is kind of a backhanded compliment - she is such a draw they the NFL needs her, but they think she needs the NFL at all? Why, because she is a woman and therefore needs a boyfriend to make her more successful?

As far as the OP, people are dumb. It's not scripted. Sometimes people think the refs make calls that favor one team over another and I guess that could happen occasionally, but I don't think there is any pattern to it that would back that up.

[fernweh]

Jan 24, 2024 11:30:03 GMT -5 prettypitties said:

I've heard a lot of conspiracy theories relating to the colors in the Super Bowl logo. For example, last year's logo was red and green and it happened to be Eagles vs Chiefs. This year's logo is red and purple, so the conspiracy theorists think that must mean that the Ravens (purple) and 49ers (red) will be in the big game. *eye roll*

I’ve seen this one too.
Then of course the people “debunking” it because the color last year was more turquoise which would have been the dolphins since the eagles are dark green. And my favorite is that the logo is signaling the teams but since red and blue make purple it’s actually going to be the Chiefs and Lions. lol the things people come up with.

[gummybear]

Yea they “conspiracy” has kind of blown up lately with the color thing, and apparently they were promo’ing the halftime show and had SF and KC (it may have been Baltimore) as the teams playing.

I’ve been watching the NFL as a pretty serious fan for most of my life. There’s logical explanations for a lot of the theories and I don’t think it’s scripted. But there’s def a lot of bias towards certain players (mainly quarterbacks) when it comes to penalties, certain types of ambiguous penalties (pass interference, unnecessary roughness, HOLDING (!!!)) which can 100% change the trajectory and outcome of the game. There’s also a media bias towards big market teams and places like Dallas (bc their facility is state of the art for broadcasting).

[litskispeciality]

I've heard (just verbal, nothing to site) theories that the NFL wants to make the Chiefs the new "dynasty" ala the way the Patriots were a few years ago, so things are called or put in place to make sure they (Patrick Mahomes) wins. I can see where someone might be jealous and start to reach, but also the little I watch NFL the Chiefs seem to be a good team with strong players so...

Regarding the Taylor Swift thing...the NE Patriots were so bad this season you could actually get tickets to the Chiefs game (in NE) week of, which is normally unheard of. I heard a few people pay probably crazy money, to go to the game "at the off chance of seeing Taylor Swift IRL" (because her tickets are so hard to get.) It's gross, seriously she's a frigging human being...but the local news did stories showing people bringing small children to the game in hand-written tee shirts with things like "Hi Taylor", so anything is possible.

I have no thoughts on if her relationship is fake, I just hope that her b/f is really in it because I've heard other theories that he didn't think it would get this "serious" or become such a big thing. Now he might not be able to have a quiet break up if he doesn't want to continue all this media attention and/or relationship. I could be completely wrong.

[litskispeciality]

Thinking about this more I don't think scripted is the right word. I think it's more that certain outcomes are pre-determined, or again as mentioned above things are called a certain way to benefit specific teams the NFL thinks will bring in more viewership. That I can sort of get behind after they've made changes to the scheduled games this year due to lower viewership.

I'm also not a Chiefs fan, but thinking about that further I think they were good before Patrick and Taylor's bf and so on. I remember them in the playoffs and Superbowl's during the Tom Brady era (sorry not sorry I'm not a Brady fan.) Teams can have good players and win a lot of games for a long stretch of time with the right coaching, staffing, choosing good pics in the draft and so on, so most of the "the NFL wants them to win" can also just be good work on the Chief's part ala the Yankees (baseball) in the 90's.

[starburst604]

If the TS attendances and subsequent ratings increase is the evidence people want to use to add weight, and really regarding her relationship being a PR stunt to begin with - WHAT could she possibly gain from an arrangement like that? Not matter what you think of her and her music, she's already ridiculously wealthy, famous, and well regarded. If the NFL was like hey, we need you to fake a relationship with one of our players to increase women viewers and whatever other underhanded things these people think, what could possibly incentivize her? She's a busy person who I'm sure would much rather use her time off from touring to relax at home and with her friends and family than pretending to enjoy football and like someone. It's silly. Travis' motivations, who knows. He certainly benefits from this relationship a whole lot more.

Anyway, this reminds me of the Cigarette Smoking Man from the X-Files who famously said that Buffalo was not to win the Superbowl that year or in his lifetime. So I'm pretty sure he's still pulling the strings today! 


youtu.be/NyhAJEPEHk4

[InBetweenDays]

This conspiracy theory has been around well before TS started dating Travis Kelce. Just another way for people to bitch about calls not going their team's way. But I do find this video funny (hopefully I posted it correctly)

[lust2hart]

InBetweenDays , that video is so funny! LOL at "I'll just catch it with my abs." 

[Eagles]

It started with Arian Foster, not A.J. Brown (who is still playing for the Eagles).

www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article272031617.html

x.com/PFTCommenter/status/1620482042902495234?s=20

[lust2hart]

I don't think anyone can deny that the calls refs make or don't make can absolutely influence the outcome of a game. I'd like to think it's not intentional, but I suppose there could be unconscious bias - I assume refs have favorite teams just like anyone else?

But that's as far as I believe any "scripting" or "setup" goes.

If the NFL wants to make the Chiefs the new "dynasty" as someone upthread said...I mean, "the NFL" could want that all they want, and possibly even pay off refs to make calls so that KC wins...but that doesn't account for the other teams. They would all have to go along with that too, and intentionally lose. And if that were the case, coaches of teams with terrible records wouldn't get fired.

[Eagles]

With that being said, do I think refs play favorites? Yes, and they have for a long time. It's getting worse (and it's really bad in the NBA right now) and my personal theory is that it's tied to the explosion of online betting.

It isn't always Pat - and he had an absolute tantrum during the season when the Chiefs lost due to a penalty very late in the game, which, that's how you won the Super Bowl last year my guy - and I do think Goodell's dream is a Niners/Chiefs Super Bowl for the money of it. The Mr. Irrelevant storyline is a big seller.

[marvine]

If it was scripted SOMEONE would have spilled the beans by now. I always use Antonio Brown as my example (since we are Pittsburghers and he's a former Steelers player) There is no way in the world that if he knew everything was scripted that he would have kept that a secret. He'd be shouting it from the rooftops.

[laurental]

Definitely can't be pre-determined since so much legal gambling is tied to it. I do think sometimes refs can and do change the trajectory of a game, but even they don't truly have the power to fully change an outcome.

[megamous]

Jan 24, 2024 12:38:06 GMT -5 Eagles said:

It started with Arian Foster, not A.J. Brown (who is still playing for the Eagles).

www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article272031617.html

x.com/PFTCommenter/status/1620482042902495234?s=20

Whoops, did a quick search and his name came up, not sure why.  I definitely don't want to put this conspiracy theory on the wrong person!

[sent]

Jan 24, 2024 11:19:50 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

two words...Taylor Swift. The Chiefs last playoff game (last Sunday) was the most watched divisional football game ever. 50,000 people watched that game, which is unheard of in TV ratings outside of the Super Bowl. 

I told my brother that the Chiefs won on Sunday because the NFL wants T. Swift to attend the Super Bowl because money and more money.

He is a Bill's fan and I was just trying to make him feel better.

I follow the NFL by 0% but if I can randomly come up with a conspiracy theory like this then I'm not surprised it's out there. 

[joy]

Jan 24, 2024 12:47:56 GMT -5 Eagles said:

With that being said, do I think refs play favorites? Yes, and they have for a long time. It's getting worse (and it's really bad in the NBA right now) and my personal theory is that it's tied to the explosion of online betting.

It isn't always Pat - and he had an absolute tantrum during the season when the Chiefs lost due to a penalty very late in the game, which, that's how you won the Super Bowl last year my guy - and I do think Goodell's dream is a Niners/Chiefs Super Bowl for the money of it. The Mr. Irrelevant storyline is a big seller.

::sits with Eagles::

Let’s discuss balls and strikes in baseball while we’re here.

[joy]

Jan 24, 2024 12:56:49 GMT -5 sent said:

Jan 24, 2024 11:19:50 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

two words...Taylor Swift. The Chiefs last playoff game (last Sunday) was the most watched divisional football game ever. 50,000 people watched that game, which is unheard of in TV ratings outside of the Super Bowl. 

I told my brother that the Chiefs won on Sunday because the NFL wants T. Swift to attend the Super Bowl because money and more money.

He is a Bill's fan and I was just trying to make him feel better.

I follow the NFL by 0% but if I can randomly come up with a conspiracy theory like this then I'm not surprised it's out there. 

How much money did Bass get for missing the field goal?!

lolsob

[gummybear]

As for the TSwift thing I don’t think it’s a set-up. She seems to genuinely like him and they are both a little weird, the same age, and at the top of their game so there’s really no reason to try to pull one over on everyone. Neither of them need more attention. I for one am delighted bc it’s pissing off the righties and also giving the rest of the world a chance to get to know our giant hairy big brother OL who is an absolute gem (no end this is an act, he’s always been this way).

And yea people are watching JUST for glimpses of her. I have a coworker who is a celebrity junkie (like in a almost worrisome age inappropriate way) and she’s latched on to this and is OBSESSED with the Kelce family now, down to the nieces, and binge watched NFL livestreams with all of her similarly celebrity obsessed friends from around the world.

[litskispeciality]

Jan 24, 2024 12:44:57 GMT -5 lust2hart said:

I don't think anyone can deny that the calls refs make or don't make can absolutely influence the outcome of a game. I'd like to think it's not intentional, but I suppose there could be unconscious bias - I assume refs have favorite teams just like anyone else?

But that's as far as I believe any "scripting" or "setup" goes.

If the NFL wants to make the Chiefs the new "dynasty" as someone upthread said...I mean, "the NFL" could want that all they want, and possibly even pay off refs to make calls so that KC wins...but that doesn't account for the other teams. They would all have to go along with that too, and intentionally lose. And if that were the case, coaches of team with terrible records wouldn't get fired.

Oh I get all of that, I just said I've heard people say the NFL wants the Chief's to be the next Dynasty and really push Patrick to be the next Tom Brady...which if you live outside of NE I don't think you actually care about TB that much (pre-the last real retirement.) Obviously there would be so many factors at play outside of legalized gambling that you physically couldn't ensure one team always wins unless you paid the other teams off to play bad, and even then they still could just have a good play that changes the game. I get bad coaching records too as I'm now stuck hearing about Belicheat and whoever the next coach is and all that crap. I think I heard someone analyzing I don't even remember which team about how they tank the end of the season to get a better draft pick only to rinse and repeat the next losing season, and I can't imagine that helps that coach with a future in the NFL.

I'm trying to bite my tongue to avoid getting flamed, but let's just say fans can be giant babies if things don't go their way and will come up with anything to justify a loss.

I think the whole Chief's winning trajectory has been overshadowed now by the TS and her bf thing, or people finally have started to invest (waste) their time on something a little more productive.

[litskispeciality]

On a side note have we reached the point in the thread where we complain about TS's global footprint wasting fuel on flying her private jet back and forth to the Chief's games? I thought I heard she was in South America on tour but took the jet home for last week's(?) game? I'm also psyched for people having jobs, but was shocked to see the sheer number of people (security, police, probably Buffalo staff) walking her in to the last game. My friend tagged me in a video post because her teenager is obsessed with TS and they're huge Buffalo fans so it was basically that young ladies Superbowl.