- Joined
- Sep 11, 2007
- Messages
- 2,886
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Yeah, I don't think it's fixed. I've said this maybe 100 times now: when I get visual confirmation that it is, I'm done. I don't give a damn if the Pats overcome it and move on to the Super Bowl. That will be the last second of my life that I waste on professional football. The one exception I will make is if Goodell steps down after that but, since I doubt that will happen, my Sunday afternoons will probably be freed up.
I can never tell if the 'fixed' theory arises from the transition from flag happy regular season, when the non-call raises ire given the fact everything has been called, to the flag reluctant post-season, where officials tend to let the teams play and don't want flags to determine the season so blatant non-calls are not a huge surprise (e.g. the holding on the helmet catch and failure to call Manning in the grasp). The Ravens play much better in the post-season because they, more than any other team, push those limits and get away with it.
My primary answer to the tinfoil hat club is you are a fan of the most reviled team in the NFL, which is also the most successful team in the NFL. It takes one or two bad calls to change a game from a win to a loss (regardless of how good the team may be). If the winners and losers are preordained, then exactly how does one explain that result? People don't like to see the bad guys win all the time.