Football and My Crisis of Faith.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Sannyasi

I can see why the results in recent years would lead some people to those conclusions. After all, the NFL marketing guys get paid millions of dollars to craft storylines out of these results that appeal to the public and spark interest in the sport. If you are a public relations guy after the Saints win the Super Bowl you'd be stupid not to invoke the triumphant spirit of a team giving hope to a city still coming back from a natural disaster. That shit sells, specifically to the more sentimental viewers that the NFL seems keen on attracting. However, the fact that these narratives exist is not evidence that they have been reverse engineered.

As far as the preferential treatment for super star players, no one can pretend to know the individual psychology of each referee, but I don't see it as a policy. Maybe my memories are different, but I don't recall Brady or Manning needing massive intervention from the refs to win their championships. There are so many individual moments in a game that someone could point to in hindsight, but in reality, isn't it much simpler to admit that these players win because they are damn good?

I don't think anyone is really stating otherwise. The NFL has created a QB league for the high scores and excitement, so of course the best QBs are going to have the best chance of winning. And yes, it's easy to come up with a number of conspiracies in hindsight... you could list reasons why the NFL would want any team in the league to win a SB, but of course some reasons are better than others.

I don't really believe the conspiracies, but there's really no doubt the NFL would benefit from certain outcomes and there's really no doubt the NFL is all about money these days. Like Rain Man said, I don't think it's predetermined at all... if the Saints don't make the playoffs after Katrina, there are always other storylines... but once they're there, if it's all about business and entertainment, it would almost be dumb not to nudge the Saints along IF they need a little push along the way.

I agree with you for the most part... conspiracy nuts will always find a reason the NFL wanted team x to win a SB or spin a certain call or whatever, and those reasons existing doesn't make for a valid conspiracy... but, if the conference championship rolls around and there's a chance a team named the Patriots could make it to the SB right after 9/11, or the SB rolls around and the Saints have a chance to win it after Katrina, I don't think it's a big stretch the NFL would have something tucked away for such occasions.