I hate the NFL—the league that is

I spend too much time and have spent too much money to watch the professional wrestling version of football. I like the teams that compose the league but I hate the league.

We’ve got to stop this dishonesty and do that by facing it. Not shrug it off because McVay used all his time outs.

The whole football watching world knows that Kenny Pickett was short on that 4th and 1. Even Steeler homer Terry Bradshaw admitted it!

Two plays before that Witherspoon covered his guy perfectly and got flagged for pass interference.

That late in a game when those flags are flying you know you have a plot, script and denouement.

I’ve heard it all before: the zebras call it both ways, the refs are human, quit being a whiner about the calls that don’t go your teams’ way, if you don’t like the officiating and you think it’s manufactured why do you watch the games?

Well, I’m asking myself that last question.

But here’s the thing. 32 teams have this as their league that they allow to massage games for certain outcomes that provide a benefit for the overall league corporation. So these owners just go along, even though a handful of owners—like Robert Kraft—are way overdrawn on their league massage benefits.

Why don’t these guys stand up for themselves and fire the entire NFL corporation, keep their teams the same, but bring in the XFL, or the USFL to run the show? Let the teams determine the outcomes on the field, not a bunch of zebras.

That’s a dream scenario and will unlikely be what happens.

But what we have control over is our money. And, in my opinion, I think we need to stop making excuses for the league and their refs control the outcome of games by calling infractions. This is a struggle for control. I don’t pretend to know why the league seeks to control game outcomes, but I see it happen way too frequently. Their desire for control causes me to ask why we fans don’t seize control back and get the product we paid for. We’re getting advertisized that this is two teams duking it out. But fans of pro wrestling know what their getting, they buy into it, but we’re getting a low grade version of that and we’re being lied to that it’s “real”. It’s sickening.

This game today could have been a nail biter. The Rams gain possession after their defense stuffs a 4th and 1(!!) and drive down the field to tie the game sending it into overtime. But for reasons too hidden for any of us to know, the league—or rogue refs—determined the Steelers were going to win that game and it was clear with the phantom PI on Witherspoon and the gift of forward progress given to Pickett to seal the game.

I’m close to checking out from the WWNFFL.

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We Not Me