The Super Bowl of Conspiracies
Charlie Burr
Local blogger Jack Bogdanski suspects the National Football League is fixed. He doesn't offer any proof, but to skeptics who think his theory's a little out there, he argues:
That's what they used to say about professional wrestling.That golden age of public trust in wrestling was before my time, but here's more of his argument:
All it takes is one or two players on the take to affect the outcome of a game. And you guys are telling me that it can't happen? Human nature, folks.Read more of Jack's novel theory here and here.If the guy who dropped the two easy passes had held onto them, the Pats would have won. If you could have bought off just that one guy, you could have changed the outcome. Ditto for the refs -- only one or two are needed to change the outcome of a close game.
Discuss.
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9:59 a.m.
Feb 4, '07
That golden age of public trust in wrestling was before my time
Not mine. I was ten years old when I wrote to President Kennedy --who would know better?-- whether it was true what some of my friends were saying, that pro wrestling was fixed.
I would give anything (well, almost) to have the letter I got back from the President telling me that, yes, wrestling was like going to see a play. I don't know that he really signed it himself, but that letter was on my bedroom wall a long, long time. And I still can't help but tear up when I think about his assasination.
I don't think Jack was trying to start a major dust-up over whether games are fixed or not. But when the seemingly inexplicable happens, I think it's OK to wonder why. Or, then again, you can believe it was a crazy, lone gunman who brought down the president. Or, better, believe that in the entire universe we're the only sentient beings who've become smart enough to blog. Must be we're God's special children or some such thing...now there's an explanation that doesn't require a leap of faith!
Feb 4, '07
"Human nature, folks."
This tells us far more about his own nature than anyone else's. His tinfoil hat is starting to show more and more often...kind of sad, really.
11:22 a.m.
Feb 4, '07
If the guy who dropped the two easy passes had held onto them, the Pats would have won. If you could have bought off just that one guy, you could have changed the outcome. Ditto for the refs -- only one or two are needed to change the outcome of a close game.
Cuz NFL players and refs are so vastly underpaid that the extra thousand bucks they'd get to throw the game would be worth the media scrutiny and NFL investigations and sanctions.
Good gawd what a dope.
Feb 4, '07
The shark, ladies and gentlemen, has officially been jumped. On the other hand, I will give Jack bregrudging credit for managing two consecutive posts that omit the aerial tram, Homer Williams, and Erik Sten.
12:58 p.m.
Feb 4, '07
Thanks, Kari, for this uplifting salute.
Feb 4, '07
There's a story out there about the Nazi general attending a nineteen-thirties football game, coming away to state Don't go to War with people that play games such as these. The Governprate (Corporament) Proganda Machine is fully in place, of course it's thrown. The Advertisers decide who wins.
besides, if it's the ultimate, why do they do it again next year?
1:19 p.m.
Feb 4, '07
Sure, one guy can make the difference in a very close game. But how do "they" figure out who that one guy's gonna be ahead of time?
1:38 p.m.
Feb 4, '07
This tells us far more about his own nature than anyone else's.
Anon? "Anon" tells me more about YOUR nature than anything else.
Gutless...
Feb 4, '07
Thanks, Kari, for this uplifting salute.
Jack--
I wrote the above post, which also has my name on it. Kari's out of commission this weekend, and this site has several editors: Jeff Alworth, Kari Chisholm, Jesse Cornett, and myself.
I don't think I took your words or arguments out of context here, but you're welcome to weigh in if you believe I did. Also, if you want to retract or elaborate on your theory, have at it. Today's the day to make your case.
Feb 4, '07
....I think it's OK to wonder why.
Frank--
I don't think the NFL is fixed, but I'm certainly not arguing that Jack doesn't have a right to float his theory. If he wants to back it up, we're all ears.
I did appreciate your President Kennedy story and while the likelihood of recovering the letter seems pretty remote, I wish you luck finding it. I'm off to a Super Bowl party but hope everyone enjoys themselves today.
2:38 p.m.
Feb 4, '07
Frank D: touché!
3:00 p.m.
Feb 4, '07
At the risk of dignifying this drivel, let me point out that I asked whether the NFL was fixed. And I refused to accept commenters' strenuous assertions that bribery of players and officials is somehow impossible.
Charlie, you know what's fixed? The state government that your boss, Ted Kulongoski, is running. Nice week in the Corrections Department.
3:40 p.m.
Feb 4, '07
At the risk of dignifying this drivel, let me point out that I asked whether the NFL was fixed. And I refused to accept commenters' strenuous assertions that bribery of players and officials is somehow impossible.
At the risk of dignifying the drivel above....
What a steaming pile of picked nits. The posts Charlie linked to and discussed are conjecture about whether or not the NFL is fixed. Period. Nitpicking around the phraseology doesn't make the conjecture any less evident.
Charlie doesn't require me to defend him, he's a big boy. But really Jack, try to keep up. Charlie hasn't worked for The Guv for weeks now. For someone who writes as if he's an authority on all things--one would hope you'd at least TRY to get the information correct every once in a while.
Feb 4, '07
Who's Charlie working for now?
5:13 p.m.
Feb 4, '07
I think Jack has been sniffing too much glue as of late. This is why I don't ever go to his blog anymore, most of the things he says are out there.
Feb 4, '07
Fixed? Maybe some point shaving here and there, but fixes to the degree that a player or players will collude to alter the decision of win or loss?
What is the incentive for talented and well-paid professional athletes - who are precisely in a position to shave points - to participate in point shaving schemes? This kind of stuff happens in the NCAA, where amateur athletes have a much greater incentive to accept bribes.
And if the games are fixed in any significant fashion, let's wonder why Vegas sports books are still content to accept wagers, shall we?
I will say, though, that if Tony Romo was somehow involved in something devious with that muffed field goal hold in the NFC Championship, he deserves an Oscar for his press conference appearance.
In John Stossel fashion, give me a break.
Feb 4, '07
Jack: dignify this drivel...
Jack can call the post drivel, but he can't really argue the merits or say that I misquoted him. I wrote that he suspects the NFL may be fixed, and that the whole thing's mighty fishy. An idea, btw, I got from his post, "Mighty Fishy."
Jack: Charlie, you know what's fixed? The state government that your boss...
Well, I think that Jack's site is kind of fixed -- and that he has a loyal following of about 20 or so regular commenters, but if there's a dissenting voice, they're soon blocked from accessing the site. Many folks who pop in and attempt to fact-check get the boot. Most recently, the entire Portland Mercury office.
[Note: I did serve as Governor Kulongoski's Communications Deputy during last year's campaign, but am currently happily employed in the private sector. I normally wouldn't get sucked into Jack's ad hominem attacks, but want to make it clear I am not speaking for the governor.]
Getting back to the main point -- the NFL is not fixed. It's not a stacked deck, it's not controlled by the freemasons, it's just a game played by humans that inevitably includes human error. And that's part of what makes it great.
Feb 4, '07
These conspiracies that you reference are incorrect. Professional Super Bowl games are real blood and guts.
Those kids are out there giving it their all. There are no smoke and mirrors. The forty pounds of pads they wear are for real. The injuries are real and sometimes life threatening and/or career ending.
Now in comparison, professional wrestling is a joke. It is hollywood and the actors are acting a match that has been scripted. But this is not the case in professional football or basketball.
I do admit some of the athletes can and have taken dives to throw a game. One of these that comes to mind is Pete Rose and a number of others. When this is the case this is usually the result of there being a financial bet made on the events.
This obviously is highly illegal and should not be done. But as long as there is competition, especially in the Super Bowl, there is going to be betting involved.
11:35 p.m.
Feb 4, '07
Charlie, I understand that, as a thinking person, you find Jack Bog's blog (and behavior) ridiculous. I agree with you.
It's why I don't go to his site.
So please don't republish him here! The rest of us are steering as clear of his nonsense as we can.
Feb 5, '07
You are all so blind to the shenanigan's going on. While you were all drinking the liberal kook aid and looking at the cheerleaders Eric Sten was up on the OHSU tram tower radioing down intelligence about the game to bad Randy Gragg who was passing it directly to Homer Williams. And you know, that guy has connections. He probably had Neil on the phone.
You think there isn't corruption in the NFL? It all starts at home, baby. Put yer stinkin tin foil hats on and learn to see.
1:28 a.m.
Feb 5, '07
You think there isn't corruption in the NFL? It all starts at home, baby.
We have an NFL team now? Damn, where have I been?
1:43 a.m.
Feb 5, '07
I was ten years old when I wrote to President Kennedy --who would know better?-- whether it was true what some of my friends were saying, that pro wrestling was fixed.
I'm pretty sure the "golden age of public trust in wrestling" is defined as "when you were 10 years old". It has always been theater requiring a significant suspension of disbelief. Comparing that to the NFL is just silly.
I remember the old days of Portland wrestling on TV: Tony Borne, Shag Thomas, the Von Steiger Brothers. Good guys vs. bad guys but of course a given wrestler or team could be good one month and bad the next.
BlueOregon certainly has been good for bringing up long-buried memories.
2:06 a.m.
Feb 5, '07
Forget the NFL but if we were comparing Jack Bog and his blog to professional wrestling, we'd have a parallel that tracks nicely. Ditto Bill O'Reilly. Lots of posturing requiring a certain amount of theatrical talent to pull off but next to nothing in the way of actual substance--persona rather than point-of-view.
3:25 a.m.
Feb 5, '07
BlueOregon certainly has been good for bringing up long-buried memories.
Indeed. My wife, Anne, laughed long and hard when she read I'd written the president at age ten, to ask such a silly question about professional wrestling.
Imagine a dumb-ass ten year old thinking they'd go right to the top and ask the president.
Imagine him getting an honest answer back.
What a different time that was.
9:45 a.m.
Feb 5, '07
Thanks, Kari, for this uplifting salute.
When I started blogging back in early '03, Jack and b!X were two of a very small handful of folks interested in local politics, and I recall feeling a nice brotherhood there. But in the past six months or so, we've mainly been the target of Jack's unrelenting spleen. As far as I know, BlueOregon has been a fine blog citizen, sending folks over to Jack's site when there's an interesting post up. Jack, by way of thanks, posts spiteful one-liners in the comment threads here. They're ignorant, ill-informed, cranky, and just uncool.
Okay, Jack, you hate BlueOregon. You hate Erik Sten. You hate all the stupid little people and you can barely suffer our foolish ramblings. We get it. Nice contribution to the dialogue.
What happened to the old Jack who was willing to discuss things civilly?
Feb 6, '07
A "theory" has to be testable. This "theory" sounds more like rampant speculation.
<h2>But I demur. Yes, the NFL is fixed. It's fixed by the same guys who shot a missile into the Pentagon and then claimed it was actually an airliner. I know this from my impeccable sources at Portland Indymedia.</h2>