Would you still be a Cowboys fan if league was rigged?

[Typhus]

Agree. But tweaking the rules could be done without totally altering them .

There is always room for that, but can't honestly see the owners relinquishing much.

 

[Asklesko]

If the league were proven to be rigged, it would collapse. There would no longer be any Cowboys.

 

[Diehardblues]

There is always room for that, but can't honestly see the owners relinquishing much.

I could see adding an official in the booth. Maybe allowing a challenge or review for some penalties.

I’ve seen so many changes and manipulations in my lifetime to the game , I wouldn’t totally rule out anything.

 

[DandyDon52]

I don't believe the NFL is rigged, but if your hypothetical was true, I wouldn't watch. They do need to figure out the refs though. Maybe it's just me but there does seem to be a ton of calls for all games I've watched this year and I'm not just talking about the Cowboys. It slows everything down, kills momentum and generally just makes it hard to watch at times.

The officials are hired by the nfl, the nfl tells them how to call games, and many calls are made by the NY office, remember the dez catch?? it was overturned
by NY.
The nfl makes all the rules and changes, and the "points of emphasis, which change each year.
The refs have nothing to do with any of that.

The "NFL" IS THE OWNERS ! it isnt some separate entity.
The owners never address the penaltys or the calls, every wonder why?

who benefits from all the penaltys?
The refs are just the scape goats.

no one will ever believe nfl is rigged, because they dont want it to be rigged. Couldnt enjoy it then, and what would we have to replace it?
So we are stuck with a lame version that is probably rigged and nothing you can do about it except speak out, and for people to stop going to the games.
They might change some things if nobody show up at the stadiums. but i dont see that happening. But start speaking out and keep it up and maybe it gets their attention. Oh yeah get all the gamblers to stop gambling too

 

[America's Cowboy]

Then either they like Fake Football or it sounds more like sour grapes.

We’ve been blaming Refs for bad calls and or non calls with bias since the 60’s. But we’ve never called the game rigged. It’s quite a leap. That’s all I’m attempting to take on.

What has also been introduced in this thread is the manipulation by the league with new rules which has added to more subjective judgmental calls .

All of which have watered down the game and added more frustration and discontent with officiating. Very valid argument and points.

No doubt officiating is a concern. And hopefully the league will insert new means to address and or tweaking current ones.

But to accuse that it’s a league wide or group collusion is quite a leap in calling the NFL rigged. Sounds like our society mentality that can’t handle reality of the results.

No, sounds like you can't handle there is bias and likely manipulation behind closed doors.

 

[Diehardblues]

The officials are hired by the nfl, the nfl tells them how to call games, and many calls are made by the NY office, remember the dez catch?? it was overturned
by NY.
The nfl makes all the rules and changes, and the "points of emphasis, which change each year.
The refs have nothing to do with any of that.

The "NFL" IS THE OWNERS ! it isnt some separate entity.
The owners never address the penaltys or the calls, every wonder why?

who benefits from all the penaltys?
The refs are just the scape goats.

no one will ever believe nfl is rigged, because they dont want it to be rigged. Couldnt enjoy it then, and what would we have to replace it?
So we are stuck with a lame version that is probably rigged and nothing you can do about it except speak out, and for people to stop going to the games.
They might change some things if nobody show up at the stadiums. but i dont see that happening. But start speaking out and keep it up and maybe it gets their attention. Oh yeah get all the gamblers to stop gambling too

We need to better define “ rigged”. It’s been suggested that the league has been manipulated which I’d tend to agree more with than an illegal tampering by some biased officials or collusion by the league.

I agree with your assessment on officiating. They are used as pawns and scapegoats . Who are basically following orders. But that doesn’t translate to intentionally throwing games which is basis of my argument.

But I could see how the league’s manipulation of the game with their rules, etc could be seen in some form of the description rigged. Just like the word hate is loosely used this era .

 

[Diehardblues]

No, sounds like you can't handle there is bias and likely manipulation behind closed doors.

I’d agree there is manipulation from the league. The tone they set for officiating, new rules , etc all play a role.
But intentionally throwing games is basis of my argument.

Like above post and several other great post by others in this thread I’ve agreed with the concept of the league manipulation.

But if I believed the league was bias against my team, not sure how I could be a fan.

 

[Mark]

For more than a century, any whiff of gambling in college or professional sports resulted in the death penalty for any player or team engaging in it. Pete Rose will never be enshrined in Cooperstown, because he bet on his own team to WIN.

Fast-forward to 2023, and the NFL is ALL about gambling. I challenge any sane mind to think about this for two seconds, and come to the conclusion that guys in a club you'll never be a part of are not in charge of multi-million-dollar outcomes every week.

Like it or not, the NFL is now in bed with organized gambling syndicates. We can continue to watch, or not watch...it's up to us.

 

[MarcusRock]

But if I believed the league was bias against my team, not sure how I could be a fan.

That's easy. It's foolproof fandom. If you lose, you didn't really lose, you had "dark forces" keeping you down you can point to instead of having to swallow a loss. If you win, you won in spite of dark forces trying to keep you down so in essence it's an even greater win than typical and a bigger boost to the ego. Plus, people love a good crusade, even if all they do is sit around whining about it on message boards and attacking those who dare ask for proof of wild assertions that assume they can see inside people's heads for motives.

 

[Mk2_Cowboys]

The NFL isn’t rigged.
The refs are so bad it might as well be.
This concludes today’s PSA

 

[Captain43Crash]

Terrible officiating on a regular basis, but in general not rigged.

 

[Streifenkarl]

There’s been so much talk over the officiating this year . But my bigger question is why would you be a fan of the NFL if thought it was rigged or fake ?

Questionable and poor officiating has always been part of the game . In real time it’s often difficult to see very angle . I have a brother in law who did officiating at amateur level and said they simply don’t always see these happening in real time .

The only answer is reviewing every play which surely no one really wants . It’s already dumbing down having to review every TD and catch. Does the game really have to be perfection.

Regardless the sport whether it’s a ball or strike , a personal foul or holding and interference there is a judgement in play based on how they see or don’t see it.

But to suggest without any other evidence that multiple slow-mo camera footage officials aren’t privy to in real time . Over the years we’ve never had any whistle blower , a disgruntled former official or employee , not one bit of evidence of any official or crews of any personal or organized collusion to rig or throw games .

All we have is camera footage after the fact. And of course very frustrated fans who are beside themselves with calls which appear so obvious on camera .

I’m sorry but until further evidence that footage after the fact I’m going to call it more sour grapes which I’m not saying isn’t justified but calling it rigged is baseless . And if they truly believe the league is rigged then why so much vested interest in a fake sport ?

Good thread and question.

Someone tried to explain to me, why he loved and watched Wrestling: He said see it as a stage play. You go into the theatre when the story already has been written and every actor knows how it ends. But you don't know that, so it's still exiting. Now, in wrestling people just don't sit there either but are exiting and partying all the time, so it's ecstatic too. That's why many people love it, just like a good action movie. I'd still never watch it, simply because sports is no stage play. The whole product is set up this way and that's not for me.

So I guess even if the NFL was scripted or worse, rigged, people would watch.

Personally I'd never watch it either in that case, because sports, whether you take part or just watch should always be about who's the best athlete and team and there are games to find out.

Yet, and I don't wanna get philosophical here, of course things where people and money are involved are always rigged to some extend. Whether it's pro sports, politics or construction. But you still take part because our society is being held together because the majority still believes it's the best way to live. And the reason why our society is more and more in danger is because more and more people don't believe that anymore. But that's another story.

Now back to the NFL: Yes I'd still watch even if I knew it was partially rigged. Why? Because just like with society/life I know that most people are honest and want to play a clean game. And those, who do the rigging would go to jail if caught or at least get kicked out of the league.

So I guess there are corrupt referees, league officials and dirty players or teams. But the majority is definitely not and just makes mistakes. And being in sports my whole life, as a player or coach, I know it's just part of the sport that you have stupid decisions sometimes. And even if they change the course of a game and seem unfair, it's part of the friggin sport. If you can't accept mistakes from others, even when you aren't perfect either, is just stupid.

That's my take on it. I love football and the NFL, and first and foremost I bleed blue! Loved the Cowboys since I was 11 and enjoyed watching the game ever since. Ref decisions not going our way or missed calls on other teams would never change that.

Sorry for the wall of text but this is how I feel about this.

 

[AbeBeta]

In no fashion is the league rigged, but do we get our fair share of bad calls? Yup. This could be because of the constant moaning by our players, but we are also looking out for bad calls. I watch far too much Football and can tell you the refs this year are particularly awful and horrible, and this is shared by every analyst/journalist in the world

the league needs the randomness of bad calls. That is what creates stories and drama. It isn't really skewed in any manner. Every team thinks their team got hosed. I recall the year of Dez's no catch, I was watching the previous week's game with a Lions' fan -- he was livid that about a non-call on Hitchens in coverage. He wasn't wrong. But those are the breaks. They go both ways. Smart fans recall both sides. Other fans, not so much.

 

[DripTooHard]

I could see adding an official in the booth. Maybe allowing a challenge or review for some penalties.

I’ve seen so many changes and manipulations in my lifetime to the game , I wouldn’t totally rule out anything.

They have all the booth help they need already. There is constant radio contact between on field officials and the NFL command center in NY via earbuds the officials wear. They started wearing the earbuds in 2014. Ever wonder why officials sometimes call PI or holding from across the field with seemingly no view of the play? Perhaps these guys are telling them what to call in real time.

 

[Jake]

No one on this board, absolutely no one, would've even entertained "rigged" nonsense when the Cowboys won 3 SBs in 4 years in the 90s. No one.

Funny how 28 years of next to nothing, a handful of wild card wins, changes perspectives. "It's rigged! The NFL is out to get the Cowboys!"

Grow up. The Cowboys owners decided they could be "football guys" in the mid-90s. They won a SB with Jimmy's leftovers. Since then, they've failed.

The only conspiracy is the Jones family playing fantasy football front office, convincing themselves (and some fans) that they know what they're doing.

 

[plymkr]

This is a good question. I feel we have to define “fixed” or “rigged”. I don’t believe the NFL can decide who they want to win. It’s impossible because of the injury factor and weather issues. The NFL can not control the bounce of the ball. So to say the NFL is rigged is impossible.

Now I do believe that the referees can influence games with their calls. I also believe there is a bias against the Cowboys due to Jerry’s fight with the league in ‘95.

Will that bias that I believe in cause me to stop watching the Cowboys or the NFL. No. Not right now. If a referee became a whistle blower and confirmed there was a “unspoken mandate” from Goodell to make things hard on the Cowboys then that would affect me and change my mind.

What is making me not want to watch the NFL or the Cowboys is Jerry Jones. When I go back and forth in my mind about this the one thought that would go against the NFL bias against us is this: they don’t need to go out of their way to screw us because Jerry is screwing the Cowboys more than anyone else can. Jerry and his family are inept at building a team. Jerry sucks.

So I go back and forth, sometimes I feel we’re being screwed and all the time I feel the screwing is coming from Jerry. My first thought is Jerry is the real reason why we can’t get over the hump. He’s a trash GM and can’t build a winning roster. He also allows and encourages a culture that doesn’t value winning over being a celebrity.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

I don't know. Firstly, I think the games are manipulated but not necessarily rigged. That said, if it became clear that it was completely fake, then I'm not sure. On one hand, the Cowboys are a key part of my fursona and fursuit, so I'd have to stay involved somehow. Then again, I could always say they're shaped, and they have some iconic value on my suit on their own. I don't know if I'd be nearly as interested, but I'd probably still cheer on the team. So, I don't know how I'd react.

 

[Kwyn]

It’s amazing how Fake ( NFL) Football continues to grow in popularity.

Is College Football fake too?

Do fans think all sports are fake?

Are birds even real?

People are silly and have too much access to the internet. We are not all plugged into the Matrix.

 

[The Fonz]

If they can fake news and events, sport can be rigged too just look around at the so called social media it is nothing but a cesspool of misinformation.
The key is to watch sport as pure entertainment and never take it seriously..

 

[DStar22]

There’s been so much talk over the officiating this year . But my bigger question is why would you be a fan of the NFL if thought it was rigged or fake ?

Questionable and poor officiating has always been part of the game . In real time it’s often difficult to see very angle . I have a brother in law who did officiating at amateur level and said they simply don’t always see these happening in real time .

The only answer is reviewing every play which surely no one really wants . It’s already dumbing down having to review every TD and catch. Does the game really have to be perfection.

Regardless the sport whether it’s a ball or strike , a personal foul or holding and interference there is a judgement in play based on how they see or don’t see it.

But to suggest without any other evidence that multiple slow-mo camera footage officials aren’t privy to in real time . Over the years we’ve never had any whistle blower , a disgruntled former official or employee , not one bit of evidence of any official or crews of any personal or organized collusion to rig or throw games .

All we have is camera footage after the fact. And of course very frustrated fans who are beside themselves with calls which appear so obvious on camera .

I’m sorry but until further evidence that footage after the fact I’m going to call it more sour grapes which I’m not saying isn’t justified but calling it rigged is baseless . And if they truly believe the league is rigged then why so much vested interest in a fake sport ?

I would still like Dallas, but if the sport is rigged, there is no reason to watch it, for any team.