The Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes just won another AFC championship and look destined to go for a three-peat, something that has never been done before in NFL history. However, TV ratings and viewership have been on a steady but sure decline over these past years not only in the NFL but also across other major sports in the world. Leagues like the NBA, MLB, CFB, CBB, and even MLS have seen notable declines in viewership and a major falloff. Why is this happening you ask? Let’s dive into the reasoning.
The Kansas City Chiefs have been in five out of the last six Super Bowls, have won three already, and look to be going for a fourth in their ‘three-peat era.’ However, throughout their journey, they have gained a lot of haters and a lot of criticism due to some questionable referee calls and how they nearly found a way to escape with a win no matter the circumstances. This year alone, the Chiefs are 12-0 in one-score games and have now won 17 consecutive one-score games. You may say this is just luck or they are really clutch in these moments. Now this may be correct, but it’s just the way that these games play out and come to an end that surprises many people and makes you question if the NFL and sports world in general is scripted and if they already know who’s gonna win.
In the NBA, viewership is down as well. There is still this major problem with the referees. Players have been getting ejected and saying some crazy things postgame to referees this season in particular. This season, the events that have happened have been wild and the players have every right to feel this way. The referees feel like they are superior beings in the world that rule over everything and everyone. In truth, they are human beings just like you and me.
These referees sometimes have an ego and “know” that their call is right, but then get bashed by the NBA players and media. The NBRA (National Basketball Referee Association) later came out the next day and stated that the call was incorrect and it should have been called differently. However, this doesn’t do anything to punish them and can’t change the past of what happened, but these players get fined HEAVY amounts of money for even mentioning the referee or the calls. If they do one wrong thing in the game, they are likely to get a technical foul or be ejected. The referees can just come out with this statement and they get off the hook and are on to the next game. I believe they should be held accountable and receive punishment just as the players do. They should get fined for incorrect calls or actions and potentially be suspended or fired for too many incorrect calls or suspicious behavior.
These days, it seems like in the biggest moments and at the end of many games, these calls diminish the games and end up deciding the game. Incorrect call or not, referees should let the players decide the outcome of the game. There shouldn’t be so many calls in the games unless they are blatant and every ref agrees on the call as this slows the game down and takes out the player’s and team’s momentum.
Not every referee is like this and there are many good referees out there. However, these couple of referees that make these bad calls and have these large egos ruin the games and diminish the aspect of the game I used to know and love.
With all this in mind, there has been increased speculation and conspiracy theories on whether these games are scripted or not. The sports community is starting to believe these refs are being trained to ‘follow the script’ to bring ‘more excitement’ and follow what the commissioner wants to happen every season. They make questioning calls throughout the game to help these teams and players have an increased chance of winning.
It is up to you, the reader, to decide if these speculations are true or not. In the end, you decide what to believe or not. Who knows? Maybe these referees are betting on these games and they need their parlays to hit by the end of the game. Nonetheless, I might boycott the Super Bowl this year along with other fans calling for a boycott after seeing the same Super Bowl matchup from two years ago (still watching that Kendrick Lamar halftime show featuring SZA). I just might stop watching major sports in whole and take my talents to the NHL and rugby and watch the fights or maybe watch some esports in the meantime.
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