With the Kansas City Chiefs headed to the Super Bowl to try to win an unprecedented third straight Vince Lombardi Trophy, there are a large number of fans who are rooting against them, and it is not because those people root for the Philadelphia Eagles, who will be the Chiefs’ opponents in the big game.
It is because there is a perception that the referees in the NFL have been aiding the Chiefs by calling phantom penalties against opponents and not calling penalties against the Chiefs.
Mike Greenberg of ESPN had a poignant message to those who think the league is rigging games in favor of the Chiefs and said that, in his mind, there is no way the nation’s most popular sports league would sabotage itself by fixing games.
ICYMI: @Espngreeny went OFF on people who think the NFL is rigged in favor of the @Chiefs:
“You think they’re risking $20 billion because they have a hankering to see Taylor Swift in a skybox at the Super Bowl, which will not influence the rating one bit?!” ? pic.twitter.com/JMdXMx2vQl
— ESPN Radio (@ESPNRadio) January 29, 2025
For years, there have been conspiracy theories in sports involving refs favoring certain teams, players and markets, but until very recently, most of those conspiracy theories were limited to the NBA.
But now, the NFL has seen a proliferation of such conspiracy theories, and they seem to have coincided with Kansas City star tight end Travis Kelce’s relationship with pop star Taylor Swift.
In last season’s Super Bowl, which Kansas City barely won against the San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City allegedly got away with at least one holding penalty, and there was even a clip of Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan pointing out those uncalled penalties.
#49ers Kyle Shanahan tried to warn the refs that the #Chiefs were holding during the Super Bowl pic.twitter.com/T4MlMb8FcU
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) February 15, 2024
Many people outside of the Delaware Valley area do not like the Eagles or Philly sports fans, but many of those people will likely be happy if those Eagles end up winning the world championship two Sundays from now.
NEXT: Bears Legend Has Passed Away
