A Zebra's Taint? III

The Taint?

Picking up from Part 2... Poorly defined rules, nebulous interpretation and less than consistent officiating, are the culprits in what amounts to, a mess made by a wrecking crew of zebra's.

Said mess being a contest of skills, feats of strength (not pinning the host for Festivus) or competition amongst highly paid coaches, athletes, and management teams, in which some are being paid tens of millions per year.

Professional sporting events, are a form of entertainment intended for mass public consumption where millions watch and sponsors pay billions annually for a chance to grab that attention.  Not out of the goodness of their hearts, owners spend billions to own and profit from franchises.

Speaking of money... legally and illegally, hundreds of billions are bet annually on the outcomes of sporting events. Were all US betting made like off track parimutuel, legalized and taxed, tens of billions would be available for strapped state and local budget deficits and much needed public services. But again, I digress, Natter another day....




Back on the right track... All of the above is under the assumption that the end result or product is pure, honest, untainted, uncompromised, and not to be diluted, undermined, choreographed or predetermined in any way, shape or form viz. no monkey business. 

Just ask Frank Filchock and Merle Hapes, both banned for life for fixing the 1946 NFL Championship game.  Better yet Alex Karras, Paul Hornung and Art Schlichter, all suspended 1 year for betting on NFL games. 

Or the frozen out of the HOF Pete Rose, who much like his NFL friends, never bet on or against his own team, only other teams with insider information. Here are lists of MLB and NBA players suspended or banned, but I digress...

Does not erring to excess on a high profile stage (playoffs) render a tainted and less than credible end product, in which the integrity of the sport is diminished, and suffers in the public eye? 

Do the athletes, teams, public, paying sponsors and fans not deserve better? Just saying, and if one thinks The Nattering One is being uber critical, from a former NFL official and ex-VP of NFL officiating...
At the End of The Day?

As always, when attempting to ascertain motive, opportunity and means, our favorite lex parsimoniae is: its all about the money, never forget it and always follow it.

Anyone entertaining the notion that this thing of ours, or sporting cosa nostra, isn't all about the money, needs to wake up from their nap of naivete, or get medical attention for their delusional state of mind. 

Any doubts? Please do refer to the above billions to get in the club, billions in annual sponsor money, and hundreds of billions bet. The NFL logo should be next to the definition of big business.

Incidentally, I'll bet you can't guess which team had the biggest ratio of public money bet, and public % on the money line and spread, in books on 01/06/18 or Wildcard Weekend? viz. the team the public stood to lose the most money on.  

That's good, I knew you could, the KC Chefs.  



Well, isn't that extra special?  Coincidence? We invoke Lee Roy Jethro Gibbs rules 39 and 39A, and as we Nattered in Wentz: NFL's Collateral Damage?
One request to those who plan and choreograph these "spontaneous" flash mob "entertainment" events, in the future, could you please be less obvious than a WWF headliner, replete with turn buckle and chair head slamming?  
Not quite ready to put away the soap box... tomorrow, we examine the flagging fate of both Patriot playoff opponents viz. rather than the Chefs who won Wk1 convincingly at Foxboro, the zebra ordained Titans, and the Jags in Thing's That Make You Go, Hmm? 

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