Stroud on the Zebras

[Cyrus12]

Won't my wife be surprised! Now if only I could access Taylor's bank account.....

People complained about Brady. Then Rodgers. Now Mahomes. The common thread? They were all top of the chart elite QBs, so they beat just about every team in the league. "The refs cheated" is the go-to excuse for the fans of every losing team every week.

Well to be fair Rodgers did a great job himself imploding in the playoffs and well Brady just cheated like his coach on multiple occasions..but that was deemed okay since they are regarded as the best ever...I guess Mahomes isn't trying to cheat at least...

 

[RiverDog]

Ok maybe not a billion..but the nfl is capitalizing financially on her showing up...even if they pay her to be there...viewership has gone up amongst young people just because of her. Old people who watch this game are gonna die eventually..gotta sell the game to the young.

I wholeheartedly agree. Taylor Swift has had a huge impact by bringing to the TV sets a lot of viewers that otherwise wouldn't be tuning in, and perhaps it would be in the league's best financial interest if the Chiefs were to win and go to the Super Bowl again.

But is it enough to motivate team owners to lobby officials to influence the outcome of the games? What's in it for the referees, and how would that work? A Swiss bank account? And what happens if someone spills the beans, if they get caught? Is the risk worth the reward?

These owners are all worth billions, more money than you or I could ever dream of. Back in the 70's at the hearings for VP nominee Nelson Rockefeller following the Nixon resignation, I can remember someone posing a question to Rocky what he thought about being from one of the richest families in the world and holding an office that was a heartbeat away from the Presidency. Rockefeller replied, and I'm paraphrasing:

"Well, if they're going to buy me off, it's going to take one helluva lot of money."

In other words, how much more money are these owners going to have to make in order to justify the huge risk, criminal as well as financial, they'd be taking? Is Taylor Swift really going to add that much more money to their coffers? And there's 31 owners. Are they all going to act in concert and to keep the lid on things? And why would the Texans owner cooperate? Wouldn't he have made more money if his team made it to the Super Bowl?

Start asking yourself these questions and see if it passes the smell test.

 

[RiverDog]

Mahomes gets those calls because he works the refs, like James Harden and Lebron James in the NFL. He flops, he looks to initiate let contact, etc. and he's the poster boy of the league right now so refs are worried about getting it wrong.

No conspiracy theory really needed... it's still trash, though.

This right here. The officials aren't corrupt. They're just incompetent, allow themselves to be influenced by their own human emotions.

Speaking of basketball, is anyone in here old enough to remember how Michael Jordan always got 2.5 steps and seemingly never had travelling called on him? It's the same effect, that the refs don't want to call something, or miss something, that unfavorably affects the star.

And going back even further in time and to another sport, Ted Williams had such a reputation for having extremely good eyesight and judgment that umpires would not call a third strike on him: "If Ted Williams didn't swing at it, it must have been a ball."

But that was years before the Grassy Knoll movement took hold of the increasingly gullible public's imagination, so no one dreamed up a Ted Williams conspiracy theory.

 

[OneLofaTatupu]

Call it gullible but when there are more commercials than game everyone is in on the take. Welcome to hyper capitalism.

It would be pretty foolish to admit we’ve been grifted - I don’t think our fragile egos would be able to tolerate it.

 

[CouchLogic]

Bless the die-hards that hold onto the hope that integrity exists in the modern NFL. My favorite thing in 2025 is telling older dudes the NFL is fake [lol], they love that $#!+ way too much.

 

[jeremiah]

That's one of the reasons why I'm not subscribing to the conspiracy theories. It simply doesn't add up, doesn't pass the smell test. There's lots of other teams, the Cowboys, Bears, Niners, Steelers, et al who have a bigger following than do the Chiefs.

The people you mention or teams, suck. To guide a team through a season and the playoffs, they must be good. The Chiefs are very good, but from game one up to Saturdays spectacle, the calls go their way. They want the 3 peat, like it hasn't happened before, but it did. But they want us to know that the Superb owl is better by far than the NFL Championship that came before the Superb owl. Sorry, less teams, harder to win.

 

[chris98251]

Steering to garner viewership as well as attempting to show the leagues business model promotes balance is evident more and more every week. The Refs are like actors in B teen movies these days, at least if it was going on way back when those refs at least could be considered for Oscars.

 

[TorontoHawk]

Most are casual fans that just pick a winner to follow. When the chiefs dunasty is over and another begins for another team than they'll wear that gear next...

Not true, most southern Ontario NFL fans cheer for the Bills. For me, been a Seahawks fan since I starting watching. Cortez Kennedy made me a fan.

 

[cymatica]

The biggest thing that I don't understand is 'why' the league would juice for the Chiefs?

I mean aside from the Swift connection? They aren't a big 'market' team - I can understand it more with LA or SF or NY or a big market. I saw a map yesterday that basically Chiefs are the most popular team with LOTS of Western Canadians - but as proud as I am of being Canadian - that's an almost insignificant market?

Don't get it.

I don't think it's even a question that Chiefs vs Bills will get more people watching than Texans vs Bills. Those are some epic playoff games

 

[OneLofaTatupu]

Bless the die-hards that hold onto the hope that integrity exists in the modern NFL. My favorite thing in 2025 is telling older dudes the NFL is fake [lol], they love that $#!+ way too much.

It’s funny how wrapped up egos can get in silliness - fragility ain’t a joke

 

[Chapow]

I don't think it's even a question that Chiefs vs Bills will get more people watching than Texans vs Bills. Those are some epic playoff games

NFL playoff games, and more specifically, conference championship games, get massive ratings regardless of which teams are in those games.

And honestly, there are probably a lot more people that are sick of seeing the Chiefs in it every year than people that want to continue to see the Chiefs in it every year.

 

[Jegpeg]

Any chance someone could persuade Taylor Swift to ditch Kelcie for Geno?

Then whenever Geno throws a pick it would be flagged for roughing the passer or pass interferance.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

I've never really bought into the conspiracy crap. But steering games is pretty obvious in these KC games. I like Mahomes, but my god, you even breathe in his general direction......penalty. It's getting embarrassing at this point.

 

[Fernie Hawks Fan]

From last year but....

 

[CalgaryFan05]

I've never really bought into the conspiracy crap. But steering games is pretty obvious in these KC games. I like Mahomes, but my god, you even breathe in his general direction......penalty. It's getting embarrassing at this point.

Yup.

 

[RiverDog]

I've never really bought into the conspiracy crap. But steering games is pretty obvious in these KC games. I like Mahomes, but my god, you even breathe in his general direction......penalty. It's getting embarrassing at this point.

So, what's the difference between 'steering' games and a conspiracy? If two or more people cooperate to 'steer' a game, is that not a conspiracy?

I agree wholeheartedly that the Chiefs are the beneficiary of some very biased officiating. The question is why.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Big difference. But I'll pass on going down this road. Some teams clearly get more calls than others. That's steering in my book.

 

[Fernie Hawks Fan]

 

[GeekHawk]

One of those refs should have a yellow flag photoshopped into their hand.

 

[CalgaryFan05]

View attachment 69191

So true.