SUPER BOWL LVIII
Why are NFL fans on social media saying the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win against the 49ers was “rigged”?
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall had to deny there was a Taylor Swift-related conspiracy before the game in Las Vegas.
The Kansas City Chiefs have won their third Super Bowl in five years and become the eighth team to win back-to-back championships thanks to an overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas. But many sceptic NFL fans believe their win was rigged, if social media platform X/Twitter is anything to go by. And it’s not just because of Taylor Swift.
CBS Sports “informed of double overtime by NFL”
Not long after the Chiefs’ victory was confirmed, ESPN’s senior NFL reported Adam Schefter recalled something CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus had said earlier in the week: “The NFL has alerted us that, for the first time ever, we will have a double overtime game (in the Super Bowl).”
We can, of course, only assume McManus was joking amid rumours the Super Bowl would actually be rigged because of Swift’s presence, something NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall even had to deny in the days before the game. The fact Kansas City did actually win in overtime, however, only served to strengthen belief of said conspiracy.
More Taylor Swift means more money for NFL
Swift has reportedly had a significant impact on NFL viewer ratings since she started attending Chiefs games in support of boyfriend Travis Kelce, who won his third championship against the 49ers. A number of TV ratings records were broken during the playoffs for games at which the pop superstar was in attendance, with a huge increase in the number of women tuning in, which is clearly a positive for the league in its never-ending quest for new viewers.
To put it simply, more Chiefs means more Taylor Swift, and more Taylor Swift means more money. Tongues were set wagging even further when the Eras Tour star was spotted chatting to Goodall in her suite in Las Vegas.
Preisdent Joe Biden roped into Super Bowl conspiracy
Final, Joe Biden has also been dragged into the so-called conspiracy. Again, just after the end of the game, the president of the United States’ official X/Twitter account put out a rather bizarre photo of the man of himself with stars in his eyes, accompanied by a cryptic message: “Just like we drew it up.”
A reference to the Super Bowl or something else entirely? Conspiracy theorists have jumped on the former.
The main “evidence” for sceptics was 49ers’ Jake Moody “intentionally” having a kick blocked after Jauan Jennings’ touchdown, having earlier drilled a 55-yard field goal, the longest in Super Bowl history until teammate Harrison Butker outdid him. Most sports fans will tell you that you can’t make them all, although that doesn’t appear to be what everyone wants to hear.