Could the NFL be Staged?

Have you ever found yourself thinking that sports could be fixed?  How is it that the same teams year in and year out are the teams that make it to the playoffs and championships? How is it that the teams at the bottom of the league never seem to ever make it to the top? It is not a known fact but there are rumors floating around that the NFL, one of the world's biggest sports, could be fixed.  There are two incidents that raise some red flags.  These two incidents are the 2007 Superbowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, also this year's Superbowl between the Baltimore Ravens, and San Francisco 49ers.  

The reasoning behind the 2007 Superbowl possibly being fixed is that the apparently unbeatable New England Patriots who had been undefeated on the season, suffered their first and only loss of the season on the greatest prize sought after by football players across the globe.  There were a series of plays in the game that were absolutely ridiculous.  It is not possible to take away the monumental achievements made by the New York Giant football team however, they had been previously beat on the last game of the season fairly easily.  How is it that a team that had already lost to the Patriots, could win the Superbowl against the powerhouse of a team a month later? The Patriots have arguably one of the best coaches and quarterbacks in the history of the entire league.  this comes into play because the Superbowl is not like any other game on any other Sunday.  One of the biggest contributors in winning football games is the preparation.  The Superbowl is not played a week after the final round of the playoffs.  Instead, it is played two weeks later giving the teams ample time to heal and prepare for the big game.  So, possibly the best coach in the history of the league along with the best quarterback had two weeks to prepare for the game, and after a perfect season of preparing with shorter time in between games, lost the Superbowl to a monumental underdog?  This screams that the NFL is staged.  During the regular season, the Patriots averaged a record breaking 36.8 points per game and were limited to 14 in the Superbowl.  Coincidence? I think not.    

More against the NFL is the 2013 Superbowl.  The Superbowl is an unofficial holiday.  It is a monumental day for revenue and is the most important day in the National Football League.  In this years Superbowl between the 49ers and Ravens, the halftime score was 28-6 in favor of the ravens.  The ravens had performed a dominant first half and had no signs of stopping down.  In the beginning of the second half, the 49ers knew they had to change their play in order to make the game competitive.  They did change their play however, with the help of the NFL.  On their first possession of the second half, a darkness fell over the Superdome in New Orleans Louisiana.  The  power to half the stadium went out causing a 34 minute delay in the biggest game of the year.  With all the amount of time leading up to the Superbowl, One of the largest business in the world could not ensure that the light will stay on for the entirety of the game? This does not seem logical to me.  The following events are what truly instilled in my mind that the game was fixed.  After the delay was finally over, the 49ers came out with a bang.  They scored 17 straight points, bring the game withing 5 points.  Momentum plays a large role in football.  Once a team gets on top it is tough for them to let up.  The Ravens seemed to be in this position after a record breaking longest kickoff return in NFL history.  The delay caused the Ravens to lose this momentum.  More evidence that the game was staged followed.  A fumble by one of the games best running backs came at a convenient time giving the 49ers the opportunity to score another touchdown.  Following this, the referees came into play calling a pivotal penalty giving the 49ers yet another opportunity to change the outcome of the game.  

The Ravens ended up holding on to the lead and ultimately won the Superbowl title.  They did win however, they were almost a victim of the NFL's antics and could have possibly been cheated out of a Superbowl championship.  While it can not be proven, the NFL has been suspect to staging and ultimately fixing.