any ref can swing a close game so easily..a hold on 1st down making it 1st and 20 or illegal contact on a crucial 3rd down. However, a game would have to be close. It would be much harder to fix a game obviously if one team is playing much better than the other...would take multiple calls and could look fishy.
I just don't get why the league would do this..so much at stake...just let the best team win every year.
Someone explain the motivation..I'm sure $$$ must be involved
Apologies in advance because this is going to be a bit of a rambling post...
Way back when Rozelle was Commissioner, there was no instant replay. It strove to remove the potential for human error, organic to the game, purists argued.
The NFL dabbled with it some in the mid 1980's, but it was far from perfect, owing to lack of technology and, yes,
more human error, that always becomes manifest when multiple "interpretations" are manifold.
The way I have always viewed instant replay was this: human makes a judgement call in real time, then other human(s) make a judgement call on the first human's judgement call "under the hood".
Doubtless, the entire process is going to become warped even further with input from the non-experienced "Yes Men" of NYJFL office, pertaining to "judgement calls" on a field of play hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Overall, my view of instant replay is that it just creates more problems by adding more potential for human error to the point where confusion reigns supreme. Case in point: "What is a catch?"
Back when instant reply was more myth than reality, owners and players were making a fraction of what the current owners and players are making. The Commissioner was a football guy and not a $$/Marketing guy. The owners today are all billionaires with highly successful businesses that they established independently of their NFL franchises (in large part).
Money is the common denominator here. The best way to increase revenue is to cater to the "average fan" who plays fantasy football and lines his or her closet with multiple jerseys of multiple "star" players from multiple teams.
Furthermore, the NYJFL has decided to use their flawed instant reply system to "fix" outcomes that work for business, not for the sport. Whatever lines their pockets with the most $$ is the one right way in today's NFL, because it is a business and no longer a sport. And sometimes, the best team does not win, because it is not in the best "business" interest of the NYJFL.