I guess I really don't see what the problem is?

The problem is that you cannot get unbiased coverage anywhere now, not unlike the rest of the media. You get to take your pick between bullshit that confirms your bias or bullshit that doesn't.

So don't partake? Again, none of this is new at all. It's all tailored to be engagement bait nowadays. Hell, isn't SI almost exclusively AI garbage nowadays?

Alright, guys.

I have been fortunate enough to see the Jayhawks, Royals, and Chiefs win titles.

You know the common thread behind every one of those championships? Opposing fans claiming every. single. one. was rigged. Yes, even the Royals run in 2015 would not have been possible without the anti-Canadian umpires and the 19 year old Amish kid who caught a home run in Game 6 of the 2015 ALCS (I’m being completely serious).

Some people only know how to be haters. It’s who they are, it’s who they’ll always be. Let their rage fuel you. Because we’ve been the lovable doormat, and I’d take this 100 out of 100 times compared to the Chiefs of the past.

It's all AI garbage. And I don't partake. I disabled all my socials.

It's just a sad commentary on our society.

Mostly good points. Although, to be fair, There isn’t a sports team in America that has benefitted more from biased officiating than kU basketball in Allen Fieldhouse.

This proves my point, really.

I completely understand why kU fans would deny it. I would too.

The reality though is that if not for the kU refs, Bill Self would probably have about half the conference titles he currently does.

GTFO

Yeah, the lack of self awareness is astounding.

I’m mostly kidding.

As the rivalry has kind of disappeared I’ve relaxed a lot of my animosity towards kU and view you all much more ambivalently (which kind of sucks in a way).

However, Thomas Robinson body slammed Phil Pressey and kU fans know it, even if they won’t admit it.

I’m never backing down from that one.

Correct. They want each game to have 30 penalties on the Chiefs and ZERO penalties on Chief opponents.

I love this. Have a bunch of buddies who are super jealous of the Chiefs. Most of them are Falcons fans, somehow. Anyway I just posted this on our text thread. Can’t wait for responses.

People actually putting on Chiefs gear and pretending to be fans all to say they aren’t fans anymore because the refs is next level crazy!!! Bills fans actually broke their brains with this loss. Read the replies to how all these Bills fans now have Chiefs friends who agree it’s rigged for them hahaha. I can’t post links yet, but it was on Twitter. What absolute losers.

This was awesome “They’re better coached…situationally tight…mistake free…other teams going for 2 point conversions in the 2nd quarter (ouch Bills)…Eagles are going to have a perfect game”.

I’m actually glad Brady is on the call because he more than anyone won’t be talking about ref bias for Mahomes.

Every time I see a "I'm a Chiefs fans and even I think this is ridiculous" comment on social media I know it's horseshit.

Good to see that from both Edelman & Eisen. It is really weird to see the Patriot guys supporting the Chiefs, but these are the only two teams in the last 25 years (social media era) that have experienced dynasty success on the field mixed with irrational hatred from fans and media around the league. There is definitely a shared experience.

If we are being honest a lot of Chiefs fans thought the NFL was rigged for Tom Brady and the Patriots. Hell, I am still bias to some of that narrative. The difference today is more access to media, often AI written for clicks, NFL legal gambling and a society that can’t cope with losing…especially their moneys

The difference is that the Patriots actually cheated.

The gambling thing, which I maintain is absolutely horrible, has made a big difference. Before it was just people who'd grumble and bitch over games that had no real impact on them. Now, you have legions of degenerate gamblers losing real money and bleeding all over social media about it. I LOST BECAUSE OF THE REFS!!!!!!!!!!! Not, of course, because I'm a ****ing fool for betting on this crap in the first place.

Ultimately someone would have to sign off on this without everyone else knowing. But if you were to ask the mouth breathers who would do that you will just get the generic “the NFL”.

Right. They have zero idea how the NFL is actually structured. "It's entertainment!"

Controversy sells.

80% of the boycotters will still watch.

Yeah far too many people think that the NFL is essentially the WWE.

"And here comes Andy Reid with a chair! Oh, the humanity!"

The Bills fans brain was broke after the 13 second score.

99% of the boycotters will watch.

The people screaming “boycott” are the people who are perpetually online. You think when Super Bowl Sunday rolls around and the top 30 trends on Twitter are about the Super Bowl that these social media addicts will be able to resist turning on the game?

Get real. They’re all going to watch.

It's going to break viewership records.

>>> Loses because it’s rigged
>>> Continues gambling on rigged product the next week
>>> ????

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Chiefs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Chiefs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PSchrags?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PSchrags</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/danorlovsky7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@danorlovsky7</a> We can stay w false narratives or discuss this-KC was 17th in %of scoring drives that were aided by a penalty for a first down on such drives in regular season-number 1? Wait for it …Buffalo 33% of scoring drives were aided by penalty for a first…</p>&mdash; Mitch Holthus (@mitchholthus) <a href="https://twitter.com/mitchholthus/status/1884454040177656277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I never would have guessed 7 years ago the only people on our side at this point are basically the Patriots. Pretty wild.

They’d have a hard time calling the League rigged for the Chiefs but also trying to explain that their success was legit.

Do you know how much money I lost with the refs calling back Rice touchdown against the Ravens last playoffs?

Now that was a ****ing travesty of a call. Obviously the league was in cahoots with Vegas to screw me.

ROFL

I’m willing to bet this “boycotted SB” Will be one of the most viewed ever lol

And we haven’t even been caught spying yet

I know this is supposed to be about the media crying, but this chick has it figured out:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">And this will explain the haters <a href="https://t.co/ZdbR3Sm9iC">pic.twitter.com/ZdbR3Sm9iC</a></p>&mdash; AmericanGrl (@AZclinicalRN) <a href="https://twitter.com/AZclinicalRN/status/1884450082881216943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

There is literally zero statistical evidence KC gets ref help. None biy the media and fans are mad because we win too much. That's it.

MAHOMES WAS ONLY HIT IN THE HEAD A LITTLE BIT!!!!

There is no way a flyover team can be this good, obviously.

I love a good conspiracy-but some of these people are ****ed in the head.

Lets hope they stay away from politics.


We need some serious mental help in this world--this is the effect of the internet.

It's all moot now. The Eagles, partially due to their HC. Is America's, We're out of toilet paper animal

Imagine what it would take to initiate a conspiracy in which the referees will favor one team over all of the others.

1 - Someone like the commissioner or the head of referees would have to decide to do it. It's taken for granted that they would want it because of tv ratings, but the legal peril would be enormous. Prison awaits for anyone that initiated or took part in any such conspiracy.

2 - The initiator would have to bring other people into that conspiracy. Everyone knows it would be highly illegal and failing to report such communications is also punishable. So, as the initiator, you're taking a huge chance merely by talking to anyone else about putting such a conspiracy into motion.

3 - You and your conspirators must then involve all of the officials. Bringing the officials into the conspiracy involves all of the same dangers. Surely there would be at least SOME honest officials that would not only refuse to take part, but would immediately "blow the whistle" on such conspiracy.

4 - Finally, you need to get everyone to stay quiet about this conspiracy. Nobody can retire and write a tell-all book. I dealt with classified information in the Air Force and one of the biggest problems with keeping classified information secret is that increasing the number of people that know that information exponentially increases the likelihood that the information gets out.

5 - Why would any owner allow such a conspiracy to happen? The real value of owning a team in the NFL is the increase in value of the team. Any conspiracy to push one team over all others could kill the entire league and therefore, every team. Why would any owner risk the $5-$10 BILLION asset they have in their team just for some temporary tv ratings?

There is lots more, but let's leave it at that.

They have an antitrust exemption - rigged!

God bless Mitch but he works for the Chiefs. Even if he didn't, he's wasting his time.

Here. Here. Once the internet became the next big thing people stopped communicating in person, scam rates went through the roof, and all hell broke through.



I remember having to ground my pre-teen son outside just so he would go out and meet people.



Teh intrawebz is da Debil.

There's actually a MOUNTAIN of evidence they don't get the refs help.

It simply doesn't matter. Evidence is for thinking people. These people are pure emotion.

That's what I've been trying to say and why this bothers me so much. If they're willing to go to these leaps of logic for a GAME, we as a society are straight ****ed. Critical thinking is dead. Bring on the tears.

1 and 5 are intertwined. Goodell couldn't rig the game without the up-front consent of the owners.

There’s a growing number of people that are firm in their beliefs that the world is flat. Despite there being nothing but evidence that the world is indeed round, they will argue blue in the face and die on the whole flat earth conspiracy. There’s no use arguing with them. You really can’t ever fix stupid and unfortunately the stupidity is growing.

People who don’t like the Chiefs should probably spend their lives in prison in the most inhumane conditions imaginable.

It’s only fair at this point.

Is that really a bias, though? There can only be one championship winner. That's zero sum, by definition. Everyone else loses.

Yeah, no. Flat earthers are a loud, but tiny, segment of the population. We are talking about practical mass delusions here.

50 million people watched the AFC championship game.

It's referring to the loser's bias.

Still, Jesus **** that number is insane. A third of your points were aided by a drive extending penalty?

They did play a lot of trash this season, so it stands to reason.

It's hilarious to me that playing mistake free football in the biggest games is now some sort of scarlet letter that automatically means you're cheating to win.

So unless the Chiefs play like the Raiders, rack up a couple hundred penalty yards and THEN win the game, it's rigged.

It is more “scarcity mentality “ than zero sum bias . SM is the idea that there is limited (fill in the blank) success . So if the chiefs are successful my team can’t be . It is like that relative who isn’t really happy when something good happens to your family or one of your kids —— because that leaves less success , happiness etc for their family/ kids . ****ed up way to go through life

Decided to take a screen cap of the broadcast's skycam view of 4th down, this is as far as Josh got. By the way, there were 13 minutes left. Both teams scored again after this play, and Josh got the ball at the end of the game, down 3 with plenty of time to drive down the field and slay the Chiefs.

https://i.ibb.co/MyRS9BR8/fourthdown.png

Yeah I didn't mention it yesterday but it took me a bit to find the play in the All 22. It's not broadcast footage so there's no clock or down and distance. I was looking way too late in the game because the controversy had convinced me it was critical.

It happened at the beginning of the 4th quarter.

Nick Wright pointed this out, and he's not wrong -- SOMEONE is going to get left out.

There are maybe 10 years worth of Championships for the present crop of similarly situated QBs.

Allen, Burrow, Jackson, Herbert -- all out of the AFC and all with probably 10 years left in their window.

Let's say Mahomes makes only 3 more SBs over the next decade. That leaves 7 AFC championships for ALL of those guys combined. And presumes that nobody like Stroud or Drake Maye or Trevor Lawrence makes a leap.

At some point the math just won't work anymore. There aren't enough AFC championships to go around, to say NOTHING of the fact that they would STILL have to go to the SB and win that. And with some QB talent starting to show up in the NFC, even that's a less and less likely scenario for those guys going forward.

And that's based on a couple presumptions (that they have 10 years at/near prime AND Mahomes only goes to 3 of the next 10 SBs) that are pretty conservative based on recent trends and playstyles.

There IS a genuine zero sum problem for them. And yeah, it's becoming a scarcity problem as well.

They're running out of opportunities.

I'm not going to lie, if the roles were reversed and we still hadn't won a SB with Patrick and were 0-4 against Buffalo in the yoffs... I'd be going batshit crazy too.

Which we should understand at a profound level. How many times through the years did we think this was "our one shot". It's less so with a good QB, but even if we only won 1, I guarantee there would be threads here about wasting Mahomes.

It's a thing. The thing about it is finding the right place to put your angst. We did it for years (King Carl and his band of re-treads).

Nick's analogy yesterday that Allen, Lamar, and Burrow are essentially just supporting characters of the Mahomes era is so true and yet cuts so deep I imagine.

Each year the pressure increases a few more ticks. You don't wanna be in Elway's situation where you've gotta get it done at the very end or it isn't happening.

I can't remember when the we're wasting Mahomes shit started. After the Tampa Super Bowl? IDK. It was a thing, and we have Mahomes.

Oh my God lmao I completely forgot that narrative. The meltdowns after we traded Tyreek were in another level.

I definitely remember it after the Bengals debacle. Was even guilty of thinking it myself.

"How can you only win one Super Bowl with Mahomes, Kelce, and Tyreek????" was a thing after we traded him away.

Where can you access that footage? I don’t think I’ve seen that vantage point and would love to watch the whole play.

I think that was the TV broadcast.

I bet it was after the Bengals implosion.

And in the case of Allen and Jackson, 10 years is pushing it because at 28, in 5 years their running ability will likely drop off quickly. All those guys are gonna need strong team and coaching support at that point. The guys who've won mid 30s and later were no longer able to carry a team the way they can presently. And new young talent comes in every year.

That's why the sense of urgency. On both the Bengals and Bills boards it's always "the coaches and organization wasted another year of his prime". In reality Mahomes is wasting their prime .

That makes sense. My son wanted dada to get him down for bed so I ended up listening to almost the entire fourth quarter.

How crazy is it that the last time we lost a playoff game, it wasn't like the QB just outdueled Mahomes (even though the media tried to frame it that way)....

It took Mahomes playing the worst, most out of character half of football he's played for them to lose in OVERTIME.

In my biased opinion, it just feels like beating the Chiefs in a playoff game is at least 10% harder than beating New England ever was. Because Mahomes is consistently so ****ing good in these games.

EDIT: Turns out my instinct was right. Patrick's playoff win percentage is 85%, Brady's was 73%.

I used to laugh when people would say “these young QBs are just going to be taking turns winning Super Bowls.”

No, that was never going to happen. It never does.

1 guy wins a bunch. 1 guy will win 2. The rest are lucky to win 1.

That’s how it goes. That’s how it always happens. There’s a dynasty in every decade and another team will win a couple. The rest get spread out.

Of course he did. Then on a random Wednesday when you want some kid snuggles it will be mom only.

Josh Allen is going to make it. Really don't think Jackson will in large part because that Ravens team can't help but shit itself at critical moments.

I pulled it up on YouTubeTV. Have the game saved. They played it I think once while it was being reviewed.

Happened in back to back years now. The Chiefs and Bills both turtled to the extreme and let the Ravens eventually implode on their own, and it worked both times.

You telling me Lamar Jackson can’t win if he doesn’t get an early lead?

And lets not forget the NFC is participating also. Burrow beat Mahomes and got housed by the Rams.

When Jackson can't run anymore he's just done.

He has one throwing mechanic that works. He has one TYPE of throw he excels at (those sort of lofted passes into empty zones). He doesn't do a lot pre-snap and doesn't diagnose terribly well.

When teams don't have to spy anymore because of his legs or when they can actually put a true pass rush out there against him, he's shot.

Now the wrinkle with Jackson may just be that the guys legs could well hold up to 35 years old. He's THAT damn explosive. He could have that sort of Steve Smith arc where his legs just refuse to go away on him. In which case he may have 6-8 premier years still.

But I think he's already started to slow up a bit. He's been caught from behind more times in the last 2 years than he did the 5 years before that. He doesn't seem quite as big a risk to truly break one anymore.

He can't lose MUCH more than he already has and remain a premier QB.

As for Allen - he's REALLY smart pre-snap. I mean yeah, he gacked that 4th down, but as a rule he's very good at diagnosing and attacking blitz schemes and that's why he's given Spags more trouble than anyone else.

And Burrow's style seems to be the one that should age the best but the injury issues seem to always be lingering in the background. He's had significant leg AND arm injuries. That's a concern.

Like I said, giving them all 10 more years is probably optimistic. And even at that...well like I said, the math is starting to look kinda rough for them.

Allen is likely to be the Big Ben to Mahomes Brady.

He'll get one. May well get 2. He's just too damn good and that organization, while not as good as ours, is one of the 5 best in the game.

They'll get one at some point.

(But gat DAYUM it would be funny if they didn't...)

It also fails to account for the fact that new QBs will be coming into the league every year and they will be in contention too.