The NFL War Machine

American Football hero Peyton Manning meets American Wrestling hero Hulk Hogan to discuss how both of their sports are rigged and to eat Papa Johns chicken Parmesan sandwiches under a giant tent made from American flag.

The National Football League is an entertainment organization, which until 2015 was designated non-profit and tax exempt. The annual revenue across the league last year was $7.2 billion American dollars. You're probably familiar with their work as it is pumped into every sensory organ you have at all times. You may even live in or near a city where your hard earned American tax dollars go to building a new stadium every 5 years.

I'm not here to say there is no value in sporting contests. In fact, "SPORTS!" is one of the most valuable and important things in our modern era. It teaches people that there are only two sides to everything and the only thing that matters is you pick a side and everything is either won or lost. Winners. Losers. Now apply this to USA Politics. There is only our team vs their team. Anyways, sociological implications aside...

There are two things I want to bring up with regards to the NFL. One (1) is that it is a multi-million dollar marketing tool for the USA Military. And two (2), it is as planned and as scripted as professional wrestling.





Military Industrial Complex

The 2015 military budget was $601 billion American dollars [source]. Hey, freedom isn't free, right? Figures from 2012 show that approximately $1B of that was spent on advertising. Human beings are a renewable resource! And where better than to get Us vs Them tough guys (and gals!) than the hardworking freedom-loving Americans watching the greatest sport American Football!?

We can be oppressed by our own government under constant surveillance and police brutality in a country run by private banks but then we are sold the idea that we have ultimate freedom because we may have our differences but at least we're not the brown-skinned terrorists from sand countries that don't believe in the one true white Christian god and hot dogs and fireworks and apple pie and football. And, hey, we need brave warriors to protect that freedom but plz also get us some oil while you are over there. Oh but don't forget to bring them democracy because USA democracy is best and totally works flawlessly. I'm getting off topic.

Check out this HuffPo story about Department of Defense spending on sporting events. Who do you think pays for those literally-the-size-of-a-football-field-American-flags? You do, tax payer! And the color guard presentation of the flag. And fighter jets doing fly-bys.

This is less conspiracy, and more just kind of darker underbelly of a fun and harmless pass-time (war (lol, jk)).

Speaking of Harmless

Concussions. It's a hot topic in the world of football at the moment. Lots of head trauma occurs when multiple 300lb balls of human rage collide. The NFL has "taken steps" to reduce head trauma by introducing rules about how and where the players are allowed to hit other players. But there are still many players experiencing memory loss and other side effects often resulting in suicide. It's a real problem that will need more attention in the near future.

But check this out. That anti-concussion movie with Will Smith doing the bad accent. Something is afoot. And now they are saying OJ Simpson is suffering symptoms of CTE. Are they going to try to tie this in with his famous non-murder of his wife? Like, the NFL is creating brain damaged killing machines? Allegedly.

The NFL Is Rigged

Onto the real point of this article. The NFL is rigged. Much like professional wrestling, there is a script to follow. I bring this up now because in a few short days we will get to experience the glory of Super Bowl 50.

Wait, I want to talk about roman numerals for a second. Super Bowl L looks lame, not badass like SuperBowl XXX, XL, etc. So they understandably switched to regular numbers. Or maybe it's because it's a nice, round, anniversary number. When will they conceivably switch back? I think it will be superbowl 54, because that's LIV, and there will be some sort of promotional/marketing connection with LIVE. Because if they go back next year to SuperBowl LI, people are going to think it's a Chinese thing, but maybe it will be when China tries to cash in on American debt.

So the NFL is rigged. Think about it. $7.2B is a lot of money. Too much to leave everything to chance, especially for an entertainment company like the NFL.

But how would they rig games? Sure, the players are out there playing their best. You don't rig this at the player level, you do it higher up. But also, if you are a player, you want to be a team player right? Help me justify your $25M contract said the coach to the tight end. And, the officials. Have you ever watched a game and thought the officials were biased? Missing some obvious calls for one team, giving some borderline calls to the other team.

The NFL is a corporation with 32 departments. The total league revenues are shared equally so there is no punishment for owning Jacksonville vs Kansas City vs Dallas.

A few fundamentals need to be established:
First, the NFL possesses an Anti-Trust Exemption to the law granted to it by President John F. Kennedy, which ultimately allows the NFL to classify itself as "entertainment" rather than sport, as well as incorporate itself as a single entity instead of the 32 separate "franchises" they would want you to believe.

Second, in a 2004 lawsuit vs the NFL, the NFL argued they are not a collection of 32 teams, but a single entity. They compete as a unit in the entertainment marketplace, and not subject to Anti-Trust laws." Like the WWE.

Third, NFL Referees are part-time employees of the NFL. NFL refs make less than $75,000 per season. They work for the league, period. Referees are bound by NFL mandated gag orders which prevent them from talking to the media.

Next:  

The "Patriots" post 9/11 run.
The Saints 40 years of losing, then winning a title for a Katrina ravaged city.
The Harbaugh Bowl
Marketing MAGIC !!!

Next:
In 2007 a Jets season ticket holder sued the NFL for $185 million and the case reached the US Supreme Court. The Jets fan argued that, all Jets fans are entitled to refunds because they paid for a ticket to a legitimate sporting event. Had he been aware that the games were not real then we would not have gone.

The Judge stated that a ticket to a game only provides you access to the stadium. The fan entered the stadium, witnessed a game, therefore he did not suffer any damages. The fan's lawyer disagreed and argued that the NFL committed consumer fraud.

Judges ruled that fixing a game for entertainment purposes was completely LEGAL.

Next:
In 2000 Art Model, a storied and respected owner of the Baltimore Ravens announced he was selling the team. Miraculously, even with one of the worst offenses in NFL history, they won the Super Bowl. And the Ravens were subsequently sold to Steve Busciotti for a record price.

Robert Kraft and John Mara are two of the most business savvy and highly respected NFL owners. Kraft is in charge of the NFL TV broadcast committee and also leads all television negotiations for the NFL. Kraft also is on the board of Viacom (CBS). Kraft negotiated a record TV deal resulted in $24 Billion in revenue.

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank was interviewed saying "It is predetermined that these two teams would be here, I wish my team was selected to be in the Super Bowl, but these two gentlemen deserve it".

This article from Deadspin.

This article from FootballNation.

Janet Jackon's nipple.

I hope there's enough information to at least spark your interest and start doing some independent research. YouTube and Google both have some interesting links if you search "nfl conspiracy" or "nfl rigged."

And this is purely anecdotal evidence, but I've noticed it seems like more games come down to the last play as a make-or-break. I think they try to make games happen like this so it's more exciting for the fans.

Super Bowl 50 Predictions

My prediction for Sunday's game is that the Denver Broncos will win. They are a good team, why is this a surprise? Well Carolina Panthers are 15-1 in the regular season. And seeing them play they look pretty unstoppable.

But the Broncos will win because Peyton Manning needs another Super Bowl ring so that he can retire. One of the greatest NFL quarterbacks can barely throw anymore. The Manning family is a powerful football family. This will happen. Did you see Seattle lose last year?

I dunno. Maybe I'm going on about nothing. See you Sunday. I'll bring some Coors Light and order some Papa Johns.