Not that I’m actually one of those people who believe it, but you could honestly make a pretty good argument that the NFL is scripted if you wanted to. You have to agree with me when I say that there’s just some strange things going on in the league lately.
For one, the referees. It’s absolutely crazy how bad some calls are, even in the last minutes of a playoff game. You see some calls, or no-calls, and it makes you think, how the hell did one of those 6 guys on the field not pick up on that?
There are a few bigger instances that you may remember from recent years. For example, in the 2019 NFC championship game, when Rams cornerback Nickel Robey-Coleman absolutely rocked saints receiver Tommylee Lewis multiple seconds before the ball from Brees arrived. This was on a 3rd and 10. It was a tie game, and the Saints were in the red zone with around a minute left to play. It was one of the most obvious pass interference calls anyone has ever seen, and it should have given the saints a new set of downs and enough time to run out the clock. However, referees made no call, and the Rams would go to the Superbowl.
It’s not just the referees though. What about actual game scripts? Like all of these absurd comeback wins this year. First the Vikings coming back from 33-0 and demoralizing Matt Ryan again, and then the Jags coming back from 27-0 and taking down the Chargers to go to the Playoffs. Also, did anyone else think it was weird how in the Bill’s first game after the Damar Hamlin incident, they scored a TD on the opening kickoff, and then another later in the game? And of course, it gets posted all over the NFL’s social media accounts. What a perfect story.
And what about Vegas? I have friends who fully believe that all major sports leagues, especially the NFL, have some sort of agreement with Vegas and all of the sports books. Maybe they’re not so crazy. I also have friends who often bet against the public almost every time they bet, even if they hate the pick. Their thought, which really might be more of a fact, is that there are some games where Vegas just needs to take the W, and so they do. Say that 90% of the public is betting on one team, and 95% of all money is on that same team. It sure would be nice for Vegas to claim all of those people’s wagers, right? Fade the public.
I’m probably going to write about this more because I’m honestly intrigued by the idea. Do I believe in any of it? Probably not. I have no idea what is true and what is not true, and I doubt that there is any real script writing or betting affiliation going on. It’s just weird to me though. Sometimes things just seem too perfect. And sometimes, my bet really should have hit.
