Taylor Swift Means Playoffs 'Rigged' for Chiefs - 17-10 Winners Over Ravens in AFC Title Game - Analyst Suggests
We have our theory as to how we got here: The relative incompetence of the NFL refs combined with the league's sudden embracing of gambling has created skepticism about the legitimacy of game results.
In other words, some NFL fans are now habitually accusing the league of "rigging" games - especially, of course, when that fan either loses by way of his team's failure, or loses a bet.
And now comes the AFC Championship Game, with the selection of the officiating crew for the Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens showdown ... and a respected NFL analyst floating the idea that the officiating crew being led by Shawn Smith means the league wants the Chiefs to win. ...
Because the league wants more Taylor Swift on TV?!
Sunday's final score: Chiefs 17, Ravens, 10. So ...?
According to NFL analyst Warren Sharp, ref Smith has heavily favored the road team in recent years. NFL home teams have about a 50-percent win percentage. But in games called by Smith over the past couple of years, it's 40.8 percent, says Sharp.
He calls that advantage "outrageous'' as he writes ...
"The NFL pushed the panic button 🚨 They have a ref in their rotation who is a MASSIVE edge to road teams Road teams win at the #1 highest rate with him... He penalizes home teams in ways no other ref does... and... He's calling the Chiefs road game.''
Sharp's copy doesn't mention the pop star Swift, girlfriend of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and an attention- and ratings-getter due to her presence at Kansas City's game. But the hint is there as Sharp uses her photo in his graphic: The NFL, he is suggesting, wanted the Chiefs in the Super Bowl because the NFL wants Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs and the Ravens are done. We'd like to hope, simply, that the better team - and not the more high-profile fan - won.
