The new norm: winning inspite of the refs and drops

[NENGFAN]

Seems like every year there are so many calls the refs just basically get wrong and the losing team is left agonizing of what could have been if the calls went there way. It is happening so much now that I think it has to be a part of the equation and teams/coaches need to account for that and have plays designed as such.

It's game after game after game.....some teams get hit harder but I think each team would say they are the victims. It's the sad truth but its probably impossible to get every call right however refs these days are making more mistakes leading to all the controversy and discussions. Even though we feel calls go mostly against us - have been reading on the 49ers message boards how the Pats DBs mugged the Rams WR in 2002 SB and refs "let them play".....

Also drops, fumbles, etc - they are gonna happen and have to be looked at as being part of the game and teams need to win despite that.

Bad refereeing and key drops/mistakes by teams are not isolated incidents but part of the norm. Not breaking any major news - just stating the obvious....

 

[Tunescribe]

Seems like every year there are so many calls the refs just basically get wrong and the losing team is left agonizing of what could have been if the calls went there way. It is happening so much now that I think it has to be a part of the equation and teams/coaches need to account for that and have plays designed as such.

It's game after game after game.....some teams get hit harder but I think each team would say they are the victims. It's the sad truth but its probably impossible to get every call right however refs these days are making more mistakes leading to all the controversy and discussions. Even though we feel calls go mostly against us - have been reading on the 49ers message boards how the Pats DBs mugged the Rams WR in 2002 SB and refs "let them play".....

Also drops, fumbles, etc - they are gonna happen and have to be looked at as being part of the game and teams need to win despite that.

Bad refereeing and key drops/mistakes by teams are not isolated incidents but part of the norm. Not breaking any major news - just stating the obvious....

The way things work now in the NFL is the differences between good teams at the top of the heap -- especially in the playoffs -- are razor thin. Winning or losing depends on injury, turnovers, a mistake, a ref's call, or a lucky bounce of the ball. That's why the two SB losses to the Giants are so frustrating. Little things end up being big difference makers and get big focus.

 

[Foxypats]

For sometime now the media have been saying that in the SB the refs 'allow teams to play more ' than in the regular season or in the playoffs. IMO thats just isn't true. The refs typically call the game one-sided. The most recent was this years SB. But I remember the SB with the Steelers vs the Seahawks. That was the most lopsided game ever. I cannot believe that the refs call the games that way in the most meaningful game of the season.

Sometimes I honestly believe that the refs have a stake in the game or they are blinded by sentimental reasons, case in point 'Lewis retiring' etc or 'the bus' retiring etc. And then ofcourse last years SB vs the Giants. It really upsets me when a game is decided in the last couple of mins because of the refs!! If they are going to allow the teams to 'just play', they should call it that way for both teams!!

 

[Sciz]

Well the Ravens sure didn't have to deal with the refs being against them at all. They were handed two games by the refs (Pats on about eight key blown calls; Chargers on the 28 yard play that was good enough to convert 4th and 29), and had the better end of things in the Super Bowl.

 

[BlitzFritz]

have you been following the Soccer syndicate that has been fixing matches including World cup qualifiers, FIFA matches? all masterminded and controlled from Singapore.

i am just saying -- lets not be naive -- NBA games, pro soccer games have been fixed and influenced.

i have no idea if the lopsided referee performance is linked to a conspiracy.

but i would not be shocked if something like that were revealed.

-- FRITZ

For sometime now the media have been saying that in the SB the refs 'allow teams to play more ' than in the regular season or in the playoffs. IMO thats just isn't true. The refs typically call the game one-sided. The most recent was this years SB. But I remember the SB with the Steelers vs the Seahawks. That was the most lopsided game ever. I cannot believe that the refs call the games that way in the most meaningful game of the season.

Sometimes I honestly believe that the refs have a stake in the game or they are blinded by sentimental reasons, case in point 'Lewis retiring' etc or 'the bus' retiring etc. And then ofcourse last years SB vs the Giants. It really upsets me when a game is decided in the last couple of mins because of the refs!! If they are going to allow the teams to 'just play', they should call it that way for both teams!!

 

[tuckeverlasting]

have you been following the Soccer syndicate that has been fixing matches including World cup qualifiers, FIFA matches? all masterminded and controlled from Singapore.

i am just saying -- lets not be naive -- NBA games, pro soccer games have been fixed and influenced.

i have no idea if the lopsided referee performance is linked to a conspiracy.

but i would not be shocked if something like that were revealed.

-- FRITZ

double ditto.

 

[Jackson 2]

have you been following the Soccer syndicate that has been fixing matches including World cup qualifiers, FIFA matches? all masterminded and controlled from Singapore.

i am just saying -- lets not be naive -- NBA games, pro soccer games have been fixed and influenced.

i have no idea if the lopsided referee performance is linked to a conspiracy.

but i would not be shocked if something like that were revealed.

-- FRITZ

Entirely possible, if not probable.

 

[OMGWTFJUDD]

Fixing sports is a worldwide problem. Horse racing, boxing anything where people will frame a market to bet.

And it's not the whole game that has to be rigged or fixed but aspects, it's called spot fixing. This is where events within a game like who scores first or whatever .

One of the biggest fixing problems is in international cricket! There can be 100's of opportunities in EVERY GAME for deliberate manipulation.

I think it would be naive in the extreme to think it doesn't exist in the country that almost write the book.

 

[Wolfpack]

Seems like every year there are so many calls the refs just basically get wrong and the losing team is left agonizing of what could have been if the calls went there way. It is happening so much now that I think it has to be a part of the equation and teams/coaches need to account for that and have plays designed as such.

It's game after game after game.....some teams get hit harder but I think each team would say they are the victims. It's the sad truth but its probably impossible to get every call right however refs these days are making more mistakes leading to all the controversy and discussions. Even though we feel calls go mostly against us - have been reading on the 49ers message boards how the Pats DBs mugged the Rams WR in 2002 SB and refs "let them play".....

Also drops, fumbles, etc - they are gonna happen and have to be looked at as being part of the game and teams need to win despite that.

Bad refereeing and key drops/mistakes by teams are not isolated incidents but part of the norm. Not breaking any major news - just stating the obvious....

It's the effect of parity. 20 years ago, when Super Bowls were blowouts, no bad call would make any bit of a difference. These days you easily reverse the outcome of a game - and therefore a championship - by doing no more than reversing a single call.

 

[patriot1136]

Not to call "conspiracy theory" but I do think that the NFL wants certain teams to win over other teams, especially in the playoffs. This year, I believe they really wanted the Ravens to win it all. We and the 49ers got screwed by the refs in my opinion.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

Not to call "conspiracy theory" but I do think that the NFL wants certain teams to win over other teams, especially in the playoffs. This year, I believe they really wanted the Ravens to win it all. We and the 49ers got screwed by the refs in my opinion.

Yep, and the pats only scoring 13 points, and in the red zone what 6 times? Just doesn't add up.

 

[Wolfpack]

Not to call "conspiracy theory" but I do think that the NFL wants certain teams to win over other teams, especially in the playoffs. This year, I believe they really wanted the Ravens to win it all. We and the 49ers got screwed by the refs in my opinion.

I'll ask you the same question I ask all the conspiracy theorists (and have yet to have answered):

If you believe that, then why are you a fan of the league?

 

[Joker]

I'll ask you the same question I ask all the conspiracy theorists (and have yet to have answered):

If you believe that, then why are you a fan of the league?

I was a fan of Brock Lesnar when he wrestled NCAA...I wanted Brock to win the belt in the WWE....

I've been an NFL fan since I was 7 and I'll die a fan...doesn't change the fact that the past decade seems shady.....SB after SB with curious calls and non calls, yet every game in doubt right down to the last minutes of the 4th quarter...yeah, it makes for great entertainment...it's just doesn't fit the look test.

 

[DocHoliday]

I was a fan of Brock Lesnar when he wrestled NCAA...I wanted Brock to win the belt in the WWE....

I've been an NFL fan since I was 7 and I'll die a fan...doesn't change the fact that the past decade seems shady.....SB after SB with curious calls and non calls, yet every game in doubt right down to the last minutes of the 4th quarter...yeah, it makes for great entertainment...it's just doesn't fit the look test.

This has been the one thing that always bothered me. There should be blowouts in the Super Bowl

 

[Joker]

The Bears blew out the Pats 46-10...remember that one...the enxt day the cry was all the viewers switching channels in the 3rd quarter....companies paid for air time for their ads and lost 3/4's of their anticipated audience for the last 20 minutes of that game...and others....Desmond Howard prompted mass channel clicks back in '96.

Then comes 2000 and everything accelerates...ticket prices go up...prices for 30 second ads go stratospheric...TV contracts blow sky high....billions of new dollars make their appearance...and ever since, every single season, there's this "the mafia is fixing game!!!---"no they're not, do you know how many people would have to b in on it!!!"....THAT is the ol' misdirection....there's no mafia fix, there's no one "in on it".... EXCEPT the 32 owners, TV networks and advertisers...why would they EVER admit to collusion?...they're raking in billions upon billions of previously unforeseen monies...it's a veritable treasure bath.

Take a three week old rotting rainbow trout....paint it with three shades of spray paint...you STILL have a rotten trout...but half the people will insist it's fresh caught today..."just look at those colors!!!!"....

 

[Wolfpack]

I was a fan of Brock Lesnar when he wrestled NCAA...I wanted Brock to win the belt in the WWE....

Horrible analogy. The WWE makes absolutely zero pretense that it is an honest competition. It's much like going to the circus; you see great athleticism but not any sort of actual contest. Just a pre-scripted ballet.

I've been an NFL fan since I was 7 and I'll die a fan...doesn't change the fact that the past decade seems shady.....SB after SB with curious calls and non calls, yet every game in doubt right down to the last minutes of the 4th quarter...yeah, it makes for great entertainment...it's just doesn't fit the look test.

But you haven't answered the question. WHY are you a fan of a sport that you feel is rigged? The very essence of enjoying competitive sports comes down to the idea of fair play.

We as a society are somewhat forgiving of those who cheat to get ahead. But rigging outcomes of championship games? That was be an unforgivable, deadly sin.

 

[Joker]

There's nothing I can say to you that will change your mind...you KNOW it's all on the level

I say to you I was a fan of the NCAA wrestler Brock Lesnar-(the NFL pre 2000)

I say I am still a fan of the WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar (the NFL post 1999)

you still go beserk accosting me with "that's a horrible analogy!!!!!"...WTF is it with you??? you must be the "I'm always 100% right about everything and if you disagree anything you say is horrible!!!!" internet Einstein.

Believe what you want...99% of the educated ruling classes of Europe believed the earth was flat in 1450.....and used the exact same denunciation YOU just gave me.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

at least we don't follow European soccer...talk about the norm

 

[Claremonster]

Seems like every year there are so many calls the refs just basically get wrong and the losing team is left agonizing of what could have been if the calls went there way. It is happening so much now that I think it has to be a part of the equation and teams/coaches need to account for that and have plays designed as such.

It's game after game after game.....some teams get hit harder but I think each team would say they are the victims. It's the sad truth but its probably impossible to get every call right however refs these days are making more mistakes leading to all the controversy and discussions. Even though we feel calls go mostly against us - have been reading on the 49ers message boards how the Pats DBs mugged the Rams WR in 2002 SB and refs "let them play".....

Also drops, fumbles, etc - they are gonna happen and have to be looked at as being part of the game and teams need to win despite that.

Bad refereeing and key drops/mistakes by teams are not isolated incidents but part of the norm. Not breaking any major news - just stating the obvious....

Probably because they're rigged? There is proof of that happening.

 

[Claremonster]

I'll ask you the same question I ask all the conspiracy theorists (and have yet to have answered):

If you believe that, then why are you a fan of the league?

Prove to me that sports aren't rigged. Good luck with that one bucko...

and Pete Rose is a saint too.

You probably believe everything that you hear on tv. Those late night infomercials love you.