"I woudn't believe in anything if it wasn't for the North Star Wonder Men with the
puppy dog faces." -- Steve Martin
I'm not saying I believe or disbelieve whether the NFL is completely fixed and corrupt OR pure as
the driven snow.
I think the truth is somewhere in between those polar opposites, but I think it is clear that at certain
times the League puts its fingers on the scale no matter what the rule book says, so if somebody is
intractable enough to expect that everybody in the world should be a total purist on the topic then,
I won't waste any electrons in trying to convince them otherwise,
I think the real problem for them is that they have hopped into bed with Big Gambling and it
shouldn't be too long before a scandal erupts, since the players are human beings and prone to
human traits like greed, stupidity and hubris -- to name just a few.
What is less clear is what is going on with all these ex-players coming forward to say that there is
something rotten in the NFL which dovetails nicely with the views of a growing number of fans. This
might well result in a lot of people walking away from the sport and causing a major erosion of the financial
status they currently enjoy, but it's going to take one hell of a juicy scandal to emerge for that to happen.
I can guarantee that there are, even now, media types who dream of being the ones to break such a story
and the league needs to figure shit out quick or take the risk that those multi-billion dollar franchises etc.,
don't suddenly lose a ton of value virtually overnight. This would be the NBA and College hoops scandals
times a thousand.
The question, for me, comes down to whether I believe that Roger and his inner circle are actually stupid enough to
take a chance at fixing the ACTUAL outcome of a critical game in order to, for instance, earn a private massive bonus from State Farm
Insurance for ensuring that the Chiefs win it all when getting caught doing so will make them instantly unemployed,
radioactive and the targets of incredible outrage. That's just one random example, but it's not hard to think of a
bunch of others.
I lean towards, no they are not quite that stupid, but it's certainly not out of the question.