I've wondered whether it was fixed, but if I really thought it was, I'd never watch another down. If you truly think it is fixed, how can you watch it? WHY would you watch it? If the game is fixed, the Jets will NEVER win another SB, so what's the point of watching?
if you grab don shula in a private moment and ask him the main reason he drafted marino.......the answer is exactly what you said - quick release like namath. the scars of super bowl 3 had remained with shula for years and he ultimately got a chance to pick a QB just like namath.
Yes, they do, but I don't. I haven't lost a thing there. I've been to Vegas once. That was enough. I won $300 on dime slots (spent about $40 to win that $300), and I'm quitting while I'm ahead! LOL
Ya gotta wonder....I love the NFL and would never want to believe it but last year's SB left a bad taste in my mouth. The Falcons averaging 9.6 yards a carry in the first half up 25 points and run the ball 4 times in the second. That's complete and utter stupidity or as it's been mentioned...rigged.
That's when I came to the conclusion that it's rigged. And then you watch games like us against the Pats when they overturned those calls against us, and they had the same "luck" against other teams. Given the declining numbers for the NFL, the one SURE ratings winner is the Patriots, so they're going to make sure they're playing the longest.
True enough but it makes me sick when people think it was the greatest come back of all time. The Falcons had to make every wrong play call for it to happen....and they did. Yet they played a perfect first half....I call bullshit.
At the half I told my wife, "Watch. The Patriots will come back and at least make it close. There's no way the NFL will allow Tom Brady and Bill Belichick to get blown out in the SB. People will turn off sets and advertisers will get upset". And sure enough, "The greatest comeback ever!" Hah! As you said, bullshit!
I wish it was rigged, for the Falcons sake. However, I don't think it was. They really were just an embarrassment who handed Brady his 5th title. The only way to lose would be to make non-stop horrendous decisions and play calls. And they somehow did. The Seahawks wish their game was rigged too, instead just made a horrible decision and mistake to hand Brady his 4th title. I don't think you can truly fix a contact sport like football though. It would be too difficult to orchestrate. Refs make terrible calls to shift games to certain teams, but that is as far as a "fix" could go without being too obvious and alienating the entire fan base.
A) I never said they wanted to ALWAYS win, I said the NFL wants them to have the longest season - yes they must win to do that, but when it comes down to the SB, they want them to be competitive to the end, not necessarily win. B) They nearly DID win, coming within a grab by Gronk at the end. The NFL isn't going to make it that obvious.
Of COURSE you can fix football! Like you can fix any other sport! And especially if the NFL wants it fixed. I'm not saying necessarily that they manipulate every play or every game, but they DO want to manipulate things enough to keep up fan interest. Why does the NFL make sure that there's an injury list each week? Who really cares about that except gamblers? Seriously, if you don't believe that the NFL can be rigged, I think you're being naive.
I'm saying I don't think the players and teams can be involved in the rigging. The Refs definitely can sway a game, but I don't think the Falcons can agree to blow a 28-3 lead or that Russell Wilson can agree to throw an interception to Butler. If they did, then the sport would be unwatchable.
Maybe I wasn't clear on that point. While not ruling out the occasional player/coach being on the take and influencing the outcome of a game, my main point is that the NFL and the refs under their direction manipulate games to try and produce desired outcomes that increase fan interest and sponsor contributions.
The better story was for the backup to beat the franchise quarterback lol. Maybe next year the Pats have a more meaningful storyline for the NFL to sway it back to their side