I've been reading threads on the Saints Board and after talking with many Saints fans since the Thursday game, there has been much talk of that game being 'fixed'. I don't really want to focus on that game specifically, but curious what ya'll think about games being fixed or at the least, intentionally influenced by the refs at the direction of the league. I'm not a conspiracy theorist in the least, so my natural inclination is to believe that the game is played on the field and there is no influence from any outside source. I've followed sports my entire life and I would be crushed to find out that it was all a sham. I just don't believe it. But, a few things worth discussing:

First, I've gambled on sports (specifically football and some baseball) my entire adult life. To anyone that follows spreads, it is absolutely astonishing how accurate Vegas is with their spreads. They put the over/under within a few points probably 90% of games. How in the hell do they do this with such consistency? It's incredible how often Vegas sets a number that seems like a sure win, 80% of the money comes in on one side, and the other side hits. It's uncanny how often that happens and people make a living off of 'fading' the public.

Second, let me take you back to around 2001 or so. I was in a crowded dance club with my friend Mike, another hardcore gambler. He is a strong believer that the leagues or fixed and was going on and on about it. He was trying to convince me the coaches 'play the spread' and I continually called him an idiot. An extremely sexy woman standing next to us interrupted and said that I was wrong, coaches do indeed 'play the spread'. I called her an idiot too and her response was that her husband spent 4 years as a Div 1 football player and 10 years in the league including 2 Super Bowls and that he has also said the sport was rigged. I asked her who her husband was and it was Tom Rathman, Fullback from Nebraska and 49ers. I didn't believe her and she showed me her ID proving her last name was Rathman and she had a California address.

Third, I suggest you any professional sports fan read The Fix Is In. It's a dated book, but the premise is that fans lose sight that the number one goal of professional sports is and always has been to make money. In order to do this with longevity, the fans have to fully believe that the play on the field is honest. BUT, the leagues make their money by television rights and advertising, so fan viewership is of the extreme importance. There are lots of things to suggest the leagues 'create' or influence drama to ensure 'must see' tv. When you think of things like the Saints winning after Katrina, Peyton Mannings last season, etc, it'll make you wonder. How often do series in NBA and MLB go 7 games? A LOT! They sure don't leave money on the table often, do they?

These days, there is so much money in College Football that the same argument can be made. I don't remember the exact year, but around 2010 or so both Florida and Bama were undefeated around midseason, and as the season wore on, the league refs were clearly doing their best to keep them both undefeated. The SEC wanted to keep at least one team in the National title hunt and they only way they could ensure that was for FLA and Bama to be undefeated in the SEC championship. I think that was year of the Patrick Peterson P.I no call against Bama. There were a lot of similar calls for both teams that year. It was crazy to see some of the calls those teams got. To me, that convinced me the SEC has too much money at stake to completely cannibalize itself to the point of hurting its pocketbook.

Do ya'll have similar observations? What do ya'll think is happening behind the scenes? If this is occurring, how have there not been any major whistleblowers blowing the lid off of this yet?

I know, TL:DR...But I couldn't condense all that into 3 short sentences like half you illiterate, ADHD punks are able to digest easily.

This post was edited on 12/10/17 at 2:36 pm