People say football is unpredictable and chaotic, but one of the biggest conspiracies about American football is that the games are rigged. Sure, football is seemingly spontaneous, but what would you call John Cena grabbing a chair and slamming it over someone's head? We all know that WWE is scripted performances carried out by the wrestlers. This doesn’t make the stunts they do any less impressive, but it does raise the question: are other popular sports following suit?
Football has so many Hollywood blockbuster moments that consist of Hail Marys and underdog stories that are almost unbelievable. This telenovela of big, sweaty dudes has more plot twists than the last season of Love Island (and that's saying something.) Every season, conspiracies arise on whether or not the skeptics are on to something.
The only flaw in this theory is that there are certain things in football that can’t be faked. As consumers of the game, we understand that these players are elite athletes without a doubt. They are the Leonardo Dicaprios of their field, so it would be difficult for them to fake anything remotely unathletic. If football really is scripted, how come these players are having to make such insane catches? Wouldn’t it just be easier to have the other team’s defense back off a little bit? While these NFL athletes don’t drop the ball on purpose— though sometimes it feels like they do— we can never be certain if they just had slippery hands or if they deliberately sent the ball into their opponents hands.
If the players are the actors, that would make the referees their accomplices in the NFL’s grand production. During some games, it seems like referees are throwing flags like they are weighing down their pockets, giving the edge to the “supposed-to-win” team. While they can’t fully determine who wins and who loses, the zebras play a huge part in the final outcome. Refs can’t just hand out points to their favorite team; however, all it takes is a pass interference call here, a phantom unsportsmanlike conduct call there, and the game completely turns tides. Let’s face it: after the kind of season the Kansas City Chiefs had, we were all wondering if they were in the refs’ ears or even their pockets.
While refs hold a lot of power, they undoubtedly have one of the most difficult jobs. They have a responsibility to make split-second calls that could be inches from going the other way. Thankfully, with replays and challenges now in place, refs can breathe a little easier, knowing they have something to fall back on if they aren't sure.
Now that you're questioning everything you know about sports, next time you tune in to a game, keep an eye on any drama that may be happening on the field. Whether you think the game is scripted or not, those last second field goals and Cinderella story endings might make you wonder if there's more to the plot than meets the eye.
Edited by Taylor N. Hall
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