Monday Stack – Everything is Rigged and Fixed?

Society has wandered down the dangerous path of believing that nothing is real anymore.

Back from a brief trip to Wisconsin and we find ourselves in that moment in July where our thoughts are beginning to turn. Baseball is at the All-Star break and the trade deadline is within reach. Our fling with the World Cup is about to come to a close in six days time. The British Open is upon us as we realize yet again how early in the summer the final major of the year occurs. And yes, football is beginning to move around a bit in my brain.

Up until a few years ago I worked with Troy Aikman on NFL game prep, an eight-year stretch of us working together. Those seasons required me to start putting together my NFL work in June so that I had all the teams done by September and it was a lot of heavy lifting that took quite an effort. I was thrilled to do the work, but now I am thrilled that I can delay my full NFL mode until at least the start of Cowboys Training Camp. It is OK to enjoy life in the summer!

Yet, today, I thought an excellent Monday essay idea has been growing in my head for a while and after watching the World Cup quarterfinals, now is as good a time as any to get to it. I also know my average reader may even disagree with it, but I guess that is the point. It is time I say what is on my mind.

Sports are not rigged.

I will start with my positioning statement:

I do not believe that the sports I care deeply about are rigged or fixed in any way and if I did believe that they were, I promise I would not be in this business.

There. I said it.

Now, why do I say this comment that a good majority of you surely agree with?

Because I hear the opposite, constantly, and I feel that it is becoming common place to accept this falsehood by society.

I heard it this weekend about the World Cup Games.

I heard it last month about the NBA Playoffs.

I hear it every time there is a big football game in the NFL or college.

I hear it on social media like it is the thing that determines big outcomes.

I hear it from the younger generation even more than from the older generation.

It is getting worse the further we go in time and I want this essay to serve as an evergreen piece that we can reference back to whenever it is necessary.

Basically, anytime there is an outcome that someone doesn’t like anymore, it is explained that nefarious actions behind the curtain caused them. Nobody loses anymore – they were just cheated. Someone has their thumbs on the scale of justice and only the weak-minded don’t know about it. This is the explanations given by the guy at work with the most confidence in his beliefs. Surely, this is common knowledge. Everyone knows that it is fixed.