Is the NFL Rigged?

[MurkN]

I knew a guy who was convinced that the Panthers threw the 2005 opener for the Saints. To kickstart their marvelous 3-13 season no doubt.

Wasn't that the game where all our big plays were getting called back? Two touchdowns were brought back because the receivers stepped out and were the first to touch the ball again or some crap.

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

Wasn't that the game where all our big plays were getting called back? Two touchdowns were brought back because the receivers stepped out and were the first to touch the ball again or some crap.

I don't know, maybe. I was at the game and the only thing like that I really remember was one of Smith's touchdowns getting called back because his foot was out of bounds when he made the reception.

The Game of the Week package for it is on Hulu. I might just watch it and claw my eyes out.

Edit: Yeah I know what you're talking about. They both pretty blatantly stepped out though.

[Saint J]

if you really think it's rigged why watch

eta: i realize you're probably about 15 and cried yourself to sleep sunday night

[PanthersFanNY]

What a dumb thread.

No the NFL isn't rigged.

I can't take this thread seriously. This has to be a joke.

[Mesmer]

if the nfl was rigged then 90% of the playoff games this season wouldn't have been a complete waste of time to watch. there was like 1 good one per round if even that.

[frash.exe]

In 2006 Rodger Goodell became the commissar of the NFL. Of course, after enduring almost 4 decades of sucking, the New Orleans Saints miraculously went all the way to the NFC Championship game. Of course, a year earlier hurricane Katrina just about destroyed New Orleans. What team would the Saints have faced in that Super Bowl? THE COLTS! The hometown boy (sort of) Peyton Manning! Clearly if he had had his way, it would have been Saints V Colts 4 years ago, but the Bears were just to good...coincidence?

2007-08. The infamous 18-1 New England Patriots. We ALL remember the bogus calls the Patriots were getting that year. I'm not saying the Pats weren't good, but remember that game vs the Ravens on MNF? Of course they get all the way to the Super Bowl with a perfect record, and of course lose.

2009. The 0-16 Lions. One year removed from the 'perfect season', the Lions go 0-16. Coincidence?

2009-2010. Once again, the Saints, after 4 decades of sucking are somehow a top team again, and who is the team they play? The Colts...again. If you remember the FIRST MNF game, when it was made clear for a pass to be a catch, a WR MUST go all the way to the ground with control, or else it was INT. Lance Moore clearly lost the ball, but yet, somehow, it was a 2 point conversion... coincidence? Its always a coincidence..

What will 2011 bring? a team that goes 0-0-16?..Its never out of reach with Mr.Goodell.

....

Part 1 not enough? Lets go further back. On 9/10/01 the New England Patriots were on the fast track to 5-11. 6 months later and they are in the Super Bowl. Ahh the PATRIOTS! What better team to represent our country at that time huh? And of course, on route to said Super Bowl NFL refs basically make up a rule that make Oakland Raiders cringe to this day. 7 years later, and it turns out they were cheating the entire time.

2002- John Gruden, the fiery coach is on a new team. He leads that team to the Super Bowl against....HIS OLD TEAM! What are the odds huh? Chucky gets the last laugh. Unfortunately his team never EVER returns.

2003- Spygate

2004- Spygate

2005-The Pittsburgh Steelers overcome all the odds, and beat the Colts in the 2nd round of the playoffs. You have to either be really naive, or a Colts fan to think the refs weren't trying to hand this game to Peyton Manning. Props to the Steelers.

There you have it. Obviously the Paul Tagliabue 2000's weren't as riddled with WWE type storylines as the Rodger Goodell era, but it had its fair share.

[Mr. Scot]

I was 6 in '01 if it makes you feel any better.

There was no football season in 2001. It was cancelled. All records indicating anything to the contrary are false.

[frash.exe]

You know a teams "best" record after 1 game? Go watch WWF or something.

wait till you see what happens at the draft, top notch information i got from gerweck.net

apparantly, at the end of the first round airing (Thursday), vince mcmahon will storm the stage/podium as his entrance music plays and address all the nfl fans that the NFL is really owned by Vince and not controlled by Goodell, and that it's been rigged to make it look more and more like a joke ever since the 2006 season. Goodell, who knew this all along, gets upset and in Vince's face about how Vince should've kept it quiet because they had a "good" thing going on. But Vince answers that the truth was going to come out inevitably since there have been a growing number of sharp sports conspiracy theorists such as MVP23, and that's when we find out this all stemmed from the fact that Vince had always been bitter that the XFL never survived infancy because of the stranglehold the NFL had on American Football and the fact that it was criticized before their only season even began because of the "competitive level". He was also sick of Monday Night Football always kicking Raw's ass in Nielsen ratings charts every week during football season.

So his first attempt at revenge was getting Tommy Maddox, whom Vince gave a second chance at football and whom he was grateful to in return, to get the 2003 Steelers to win the Superbowl, in order to prove the "competitive level" criticism completely bunk. When he failed miserably, that upset Vince even more, so he took it another step further and used his influence to take over the entire NFL. With the help of former NFL and XFL coach Dick Butkus, Vince was granted access to an executive NFL meeting/dinner, and brought the Undertaker with him. During an aside moment in one of the isolated rooms, the Undertaker threatened to bodyslam Tagliabue through the banquet table, and Vince stated the only way Paul wouldn't be harmed was if he stood down as commissioner.

Vince coerced longtime NFL employee Roger Goodell, who was a front runner for the replacement position, to work with him. Vince offered use of his tropical getaway estate in the Dominican Republic on alternate weekends and a permanent backstage pass for his son, who is also a huge Randy Orton fan, an offer Goodell couldn't pass on in order to get him to work for him.

Goodell, feeling emasculated calls on Peyton Manning to come out and get in Vince's face to defend the beloved commissioner, Manning storms the ring to "eye of the tiger" and berates Vince as a delusional old man, giving his opinion that Vince's story is completely false. Goodell finishes Vince off verbally and turns his back, ...and that's when Peyton hits Goodell with a folding chair in an ironic twist, later revealing Goodell's greediness and unwillingness to compromise to renew or re-establish a CBA has estranged him from the entire NFLPA and every single player in the league. And then Vince takes the mic off the podium, crouches and gets in the face of a prone Goodell, and exclaims, "YOU'RE FIIIIRRRRREDDDD!!!!!!!!", and Rich Eisen sh1ts his pants in disbelief back in the booth.

and poo i can write better than the entire wwe creative team and i just pulled a bunch of poo outta my head in 10 minutes

[WhoDat205]

This thread is rigged.

[Chimera]

On 9/10/01 the Pats were headed towards a 6-10 season at best.

Oh yeah? The Panthers were on pace to finish 16-0 on Sep. 10. Instead, they set a then-record for longest losing streak in a season at 15 games.

Talk about a black eye...

I do see your point - watch any Panthers - Cowboys game, the Steelers - Seahawks Super Bowl and the 2006 Steelers - Colts playoff game. You can't tell me that at least those games weren't rigged.

The same logic for the Saints winning so long after Katrina --- is that the same logic behind the Giants winning in 2007?

[blackcatgrowl]

While I'll be the first to agree that the OP comes across too assertively, I think there is a little bit of disregard here for a potential purposeful point.

Its naive to think that there isn't a certain level of "fixing" of some sort in the NFL. Whenever you have as much money invested in something like a pro sport, the factors which influence the results of the investment are going to be manipulated by the investors as much as they can get away with. The owners of most pro-sports clubs are often multi-millionaires from their own personal capital ventures. This isn't just a game to these guys. It's a business, and obviously in many cases, its a political outlet. These guys have teams of lawyers, and staffs of people to make their team as profitable as they can. This almost always involves WINNING.

Baseball - Steroid use was at first thought to be something limited to a handful of players like Barry Bonds. We have found out more and more that many recent players have used performance enhancing drugs. It's almost like after some of the recent "greats" have retired, they get a conscious and try to atone for doing something illegal or unethical during their career. I'm sure if you used a truth serum or lie detector test on many of the all-star players in the past 20 years, you'd have asterisks littering the MLB record books.

Here's a LIST(probably very incomplete) of the number of MLB players that have been found to have used performance drugs.

On top of all that, there have been other backdoor behaviors by MLB owners, such as collusions by multiple teams to lower negotiated player contracts. (Link here)

Basketball - It's come to light recently that at least NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on NBA games he officiated over. There is also the controversy that during the 2005 playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy was fined a record amount for a coach, $100,000, for asserting that he had a source within the league who informed him that the referees were being instructed to call more fouls on Yao Ming, due to protests by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

There's a bunch of other rumors and controversies about the NBA... but the two above have the most solid tangible proof. Read more at this LINK and judge for yourself.

It's just human behavior to conspire and act in deceit. Just because someone is rich, or is in a position of influence (like a ref), doesn't mean they suddenly gain flawless moral fiber.

So is the NFL fixed? Well, to laugh the question off isn't a realistic perception in my opinion.

Based on what's been revealed in other sports, I'm sure at some point along the line in the NFL, decisions are made for happenings in games or off the field which are done in bias for one team or another. Since the NFL is currently the reigning king of American sports (in terms of revenue generated), and our country has a predilection for corruption and "showing a good face", if anything of this nature goes on we'll never know about it.

[Raskle]

And, I bet the 1919 World Series was rigged too, eh?? Jeez some people and their conspiracy theories... err, what?

What do you mean it actually was rigged??

:eek:

Not subscribing to the whole the NFL is rigged thing, but there is precedent in professional sports. If anyone truly believes the refs aren't biased in some form or fashion, then you're just kidding yourselves. We're human, and to know the rules as required takes study and a certain love of the game. Jus sayin..

[Panthers128]

i don't think the nfl is rigged, but when 99% of people polled say 'their heart wants the saints to win' can you honestly expect refs to call a fair game? they're human, too.