As you know the NY Giants beat the odds on favorites to win Super Bowl XLII last night in Phoenix. Only the state of New York, some parts of New Jersey and a few stray fans in the rest of the country believed the NY Giants could pull the upset over the then undefeated New England Patriots.
The analysts said the Giants best players were injured. They said Plaxico Burress and Osi Umenyiora wouldn’t even play. So how did the Giants do it? If you listen to talk radio shows this morning like I did (stop getting your news and information off the Internets!) you would know the answer: the fix was in.
Before you scoff, read the facts:
- The Giants received far fewer penalties than NE in last night’s game
- The refs looked the other way when Randy Moss was fouled on two consecutive plays late in the 4th quarter
- The refs called the fewest penalties on an underdog team in the history of the Super Bowl
- The refs looked the other way when the Giants had too many men on the field in the 3rd quarter forcing Belicheck to waste a crucial challenge
NE were 12-point favorites leading into the game. They were on track to become only the second team in history to go undefeated the entire season. They were facing a team that not only lost 6 times this season but were in danger of not even making the playoffs until the final few games.
Clearly the fix was in. But why? Obviously, New England’s arrogance and that little videotape cheating scandal at the beginning of the season had something to do with it. The NFL had to make examples of the cheaters by virtually spanking them in front of 90 million viewers.
Why were there so many non-calls during this Super Bowl? Why was Randy Moss roughed up on that final drive and not one flag flew? But most telling of all was what happened at the end of the game. There was no time on the clock as the Giants celebrated on the field. The coaches walked towards each other for that final obligatory handshake. Suddenly the NFL puts one second back on the clock. Why?
The refs pushed between the opposing coaches and you could almost hear one ref say to NE coach Bill Belichick, “coach, the NFL wants to rub this loss in your face! Get your team back on the field!” Instead, Belichick stormed off the field and into the locker room. Can a coach exit the field before the game is officially called? Sure if the fix is in. Does it matter?
Still not convinced? Check out this quote from Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) the day of the big game: “We’re not neglecting the stimulus package or Iraq or judicial confirmations here,” Specter said. “But the integrity of the game is very important. These players set the role model for America.”
Hopefully you didn’t lose too much money or sleep on last night’s game.
As a British citizen I was unable to vote in today’s Super Tuesday elections – but I heard most of you did! I heard the turnout to cast votes in Atlanta was huge. Analysts call this the biggest day of voting ever in U.S. history. Citizens of the United States overseas and in Canada were able to cast votes online for the first time.
