NEW ORLEANS — Early last week I wrote a column rejecting the ridiculous conspiracy that the NFL, via its referees, were trying to fix/influence games to the benefit of the bottom line (TV ratings, sponsorships) by helping the Kansas City Chiefs. The reasons were myriad.
Many, if not most, of the 3,200-plus comments rejected my take on it. While I can’t believe any reasonable person could take the conspiracy seriously, they can’t believe I’d be so naïve to not.
So be it.
Except the refs remain the topic of the week here as everyone builds to Sunday’s Super Bowl between Kansas City and Philadelphia. The NFL would love the focus to be on the players or strategies or pretty much anything else, but the drumbeat that the games are rigged is drowning everything out.
“This reminds me a little bit of the script; that I write a script for the entire season, right?” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said.
Some people apparently believe that as well.
Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, meanwhile, turned the tables and asked something to the “media.”
“Why are you guys leaning into this whole ref thing?” Kelce asked.
Good question. Or perhaps, a good question a decade or two ago.
Back then, “media” was more clearly defined and you could, perhaps, count on them to be informed enough to recognize that such a vast conspiracy to alter the outcome of games — refs, league executives, other owners, etc. — is impossible to pull off in silence.
You could likewise expect the “media” to understand that the risk of federal felony charges and massive civil suits would outweigh getting Fox an extra percentage point of viewership from Taylor Swift fans. (I even argue that Buffalo being here would have resulted in bigger ratings, higher ticket prices and certainly more excitement.)
The “media” would ignore the tin foil hat brigade and not play along.
Those days are gone now though — and this isn’t to wax nostalgic, just to point it out. Fan voices are loud and the ones calling for conspiracies are particularly loud as they get amplified online. This is no longer one crank at the end of the bar.
“A lot of those theories are things that happen on social media and they get a lot of life,” Goodell acknowledged. “I think it reflects a lot of the fans’ passion.”
Traditional media, meanwhile, is clinging to life. Ignoring what fans are talking about is risky. These are the customers. As such, outlets provide content that draw eyeballs. And with this Super Bowl, that means the refs.
The NFL kicks off Super Bowl week with a mass gathering of “media” hitting players and coaches with “questions.” Credentialing is lax as the league seeks to reach audiences far from the traditional sports channels. These are not just your local newspaper beat writers. It is branded, sponsored and televised.
The goal for many outlets is to produce a viral clip. That means being outlandish, even essentially insulting players such as Kelce and Patrick Mahomes with questions that they would never dare ask in a more intimate setting.
“Patrick, for your whole career you have had so many great people help you win,” Mahomes was asked. “So, who is your favorite ref?”
“That’s hilarious,” Mahomes said, seemingly playing along because he knows getting upset or insulted would make it only bigger. “All the refs are great, man. All the refs are great. They do the best they can. We go out there and play the game the right way.”
“Is there one you give a Christmas card to possibly?” he was asked.
“Not that I can remember,” Mahomes said. “I’ll have to ask my teammates to try and figure it out.”
Kelce was soon a target as well.
“Travis, what do you love more: Taylor Swift or phantom 15-yard roughing the passer penalties in the playoffs?”
“That’s a good question,” a not amused Kelce said. “Anybody else?”
The bits went viral — including being repeated here. Content! Engagement!
These may have been rude questions to ask, but they also tapped into what a lot of fans actually want asked and in the pointed manner they want it asked.
Was it the right thing to do? It doesn’t matter, that’s the environment we live in. It was successful. Kelce can understandably wonder why he has to deal with this kind of stuff, but it wasn’t the “media” that put him up on a stage to be hit with these kinds of loaded queries.
The NFL did that, determining that this is part of the job — which gets excused by the fact the job is so lucrative that Mahomes is on his way to becoming a billionaire and Kelce is dating perhaps the most famous woman in the world.
Sure, in a perfect world, common sense, respect and restraint would prevail. This isn’t a perfect world. And the truth remains: a lot of fans think the Chiefs get the benefit of a favorable whistle. The only way to combat this is to try to refute it, which the referees are trying.
“Officiating crews do not work the same team more than twice each regular season,” said Scott Green of the referee’s association. “It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team.”
Good start but also, good luck with that. The reality is enough of the public believes otherwise and enough media plays to that worldview making the biggest storyline of the biggest game of the year what it is. Even Goodell acknowledges that.
“[It’s] a ridiculous theory, for anyone who might take it seriously,” the commissioner said. “But at the end of the day, it’s something we always have to continue to work on.”
Especially when, inevitably, a blown call goes in Kansas City’s favor.