HomerPimpson
Hall of Famer
I worry that most organized activities involving billions of dollars are in some way "rigged". There are a couple of good documentaries on the match fixing scandal(s) in Sumo Wrestling, a sport going back thousands of years and involving a religious/spiritual and cultural component. If Sumo can be infiltrated by greed and corruption, you would think any sport can, given their cultural/philosophical/religious beliefs regarding the sport going back thousands of years. There's also the Netflix documentary "Untold-Flagrant Foul" describing the NBA scandal involving referee Tim Donaghy "fixing" games. He claimed to be able to swing any game by 6 points.
So I often wonder/worry about the NFL being rigged in such a way. I mean, let's be honest, a holding call, a missed call, really any call, can change most games, due to parity. However, the biggest media markets in the NFL haven't had a consistently winning team in decades. At least, not in so far as perennial playoff teams or Superbowl winners. The hugest media markets in viewership in the NFL are NY (Jets/Giants), LA (Rams, Chargers), Chicago, Philly, and Dallas. So I don't think we can conclude that games are fixed.
There may, in fact, be some point shaving, but I honestly doubt even that, at this point, because with parity the games are so close that it would take an enormous organized effort not only to beat the spread but to fix a game. In today's world I just don't think it's possible. Also, this may be happening now even, but in the future, AI or some computer assistance will easily be able to recognize strange deviations and outcomes. It'll be impossible in the future to do it, and it may even be impossible now.
So I often wonder/worry about the NFL being rigged in such a way. I mean, let's be honest, a holding call, a missed call, really any call, can change most games, due to parity. However, the biggest media markets in the NFL haven't had a consistently winning team in decades. At least, not in so far as perennial playoff teams or Superbowl winners. The hugest media markets in viewership in the NFL are NY (Jets/Giants), LA (Rams, Chargers), Chicago, Philly, and Dallas. So I don't think we can conclude that games are fixed.
There may, in fact, be some point shaving, but I honestly doubt even that, at this point, because with parity the games are so close that it would take an enormous organized effort not only to beat the spread but to fix a game. In today's world I just don't think it's possible. Also, this may be happening now even, but in the future, AI or some computer assistance will easily be able to recognize strange deviations and outcomes. It'll be impossible in the future to do it, and it may even be impossible now.
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