A Little Something For The Conspiracy Nuts

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I don’t know about you, but I’ve had just about enough of conspiracy nuts claiming that the SEC is cheating to aid Alabama and Florida.

A little bit of logic pretty much squashes that idea like a bug, but Lord knows logic and fandom don’t often mix.  And don’t even get me started on the sports-entertainment media.

So, having heard just about enough from a horde of fans and media scalawags who are trying to drive ratings, pageviews and paper sales by pushing the conspiracy theory, here are twelve of my own observations regarding this past weekend’s “scandal” and the overall idea of Them Cheatin’ Refs.



1.  “It was clearly an interception!“

I’m sorry, but if Patrick Peterson’s feet were “clearly” inbounds we wouldn’t have needed 10 replays, a freeze frame and a zoom-in to try to determine if he really DID have his feet inbounds.  It was a close play.  Personally, I thought — based on a high angle view from behind the play — that Peterson did get his right foot inbounds with control of the ball. 

But I don’t know that I would have overturned the call on the field based on one angle shot from half-a-stadium away.

According to SEC coordinator of officials Rogers Redding, “The instant replay rule is if you don’t have clear, 100 percent, absolute proof that the call on the field is incorrect, then you let it stand.”

Interestingly, the worst violation of this principle I’ve seen all year occurred in the Ole Miss-Auburn game when a Rebel interception was overturned despite a lack of clear visual evidence. 

Was that call just human error in the interpretation or was there a conspiracy to help Auburn topple Ole Miss?

I’ll go with human error.



2.  I keep hearing — even from ESPN’s Michael Wilbon — that the SEC and Mike Slive are cheating and that this latest replay ruling proves it.

One small issue: Earlier in the same game, on Alabama’s first drive, a glitch in the replay system prevented officials from reviewing an Alabama pass that had been ruled incomplete.

The system was down.  The incompletion stood.  Tough luck, Bama.

Now, I haven’t heard Wilbon or any other sportstalk hosts bring this point up.  Have you?

You know why?  ‘Cause it doesn’t fit their buffoonish conspiracy theory.

“You mean the replay system worked AGAINST Alabama in the very same game?  Well, there’s no fun in that, let’s not mention it.”

Disgusting.



3.  The numbers don’t support the theory.

If the league was trying to help Alabama and Florida, would the Gators (6th) and Tide (5th) really rank in the top half of the league in terms of penalty yardage?  Officials trying to help those teams could take a little bit better care of them than that, couldn’t they?

And why do they also rank 5th (Alabama) and 6th (Florida) in the number of penalties called against their opponents.  For all the moaning, you’d expect that their opponents would have been penalized more than other teams’ opponents.

If the officials have been told to aid the Tide and the Gators they really aren’t doing a very good job of it based on — ya know — facts.



4.  “SEC officiating is the worst its ever been!”

I’m guessing it’s not.  But allow me to make a comparison to show you what I believe to be the real issue:


November 7, 2009

a.  Peterson makes what might have been an interception for LSU

b.  Two officials — in the right positions, but blocked by players — confer and do what they’re taught to do… they rule the pass incomplete because they did not see it.

c.  The play moves to the replay booth upstairs.

d.  While the replay official looks at his replays, home viewers are treated to more angles, more replays, super slow-motion replays, one freeze frame and the use of zoom-in technology.

e.  The replay official does not overturn the call on the field.

f.  ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and other national highlight shows run the replays over and over again and discuss the “blown” call.

g.  LSU fans rush to the internet to post stories, clips, photos and breakdowns of the play in question.

h.  The 24-hour sports channels beat the drum for incompetence and/or cheating.


Okay, now let’s say the exact same play took place during a game 35 years ago:


November 7, 1974

a.  Peterson makes what might have been an interception for LSU

b.  Two officials — in the right positions, but blocked by players — confer and do what they’re taught to do… they rule the pass incomplete because they did not see it.

c.  The next play is run and the game goes on.


See what happened there? 

The difference isn’t in the officiating, it’s in how we view the officiating.  We now have technology that gives us every view of every human error in a game.  Whether it’s the mistake of a player or an official.

In 1974, most games were NOT on television.  Those that were didn’t feature 10 cameras and super slow-motion replays.  There were no national highlight shows, there were no sports talkshows and there was no internet.

Questionable call?  You moved on to the next snap.

These days, any goofball can post his own crackpot theory about a controversial call and fans eager to believe that their team wuz robbed can buy into it.

Want proof?  Do a web search for 9/11 conspiracies.  You’ll find thousands of clowns who believe the US government actually staged the World Trade Center attacks.

If folks are nutty enough to buy that load of garbage, it’s no wonder that some crazed fans are willing to believe that their school is the victim of cheating officials.



5.  Officiating will not improve.

I keep hearing talkshow callers plead for the SEC to better train their officials.  I’ve got news for them: the SEC is doing the best job they can in training and grading officials.  In fact, I’m guessing you won’t find a better trained group of officials in any other conference.

So don’t expect to see better officiating next year. 

People are now LOOKING for blown calls and “proof” of cheating.  Once that starts, they see what they want to see.

Consider Nostradamus.  You could read his ramblings for years and years and never pick up on a single prediction before it occurs.  But, if you’re looking for something specific, you’ll find it.

“He wrote the word ‘Hister’ and that has to mean ‘Hitler!’  And if I pair it with something he wrote 50 pages earlier, it PROVES that he predicted World War II!” 

Yeah, sure it does.

Let me make it even simpler for you.  Consider “Three’s Company.” 

Each week Mr. Roper would be cleaning a pipe or fixing a window when he’d inevitably overhear Chrissy tell Jack to “Put it in.” 

Mr. Roper always assumed that the folks in that apartment were messing around, so to him, “put it in” could mean just one thing.

Twenty minutes later, after a few commercials, Mr. Roper would realize that Chrissy had actually told Jack to put a head of lettuce in the refrigerator.  Ah, the hilarity!

Well, conspiracy theorists are the Mr. Ropers of the sports world.  They KNOW that refs are cheating.  Therefore, any call that doesn’t go their team’s way becomes proof that the fix is in.

So don’t expect officiating to get better next year.  Perception is reality.  And people will continue to perceive that officiating is crummy.

(I won’t even discuss the fact that technology will continue to improve and continue to expose normal human errors.)



6.  Wilbon is an irresponsible tool.

When you host a television show that requires you to talk about 20 national topics per day in a 30-minute time period, you can’t possibly know a whole lot about every topic. 

You might know a little about each topic, but there’s no way you can have enough inside knowledge to go on national television and accuse the Southeastern Conference and its commissioner — who works for the 12 member institutions — of fixing games for the benefit of just two of those schools.

That’s pathetic.  And if Wilbon made his recent comments just to get ratings, well, then it’s safe to say Wilbon has sold his journalistic soul.



7.  Speaking of journalism, why isn’t someone like Wilbon digging into this conspiracy story?

Whoever uncovers the “truth” about the SEC’s conspiracy will become a very rich person overnight.  We’re talking books and TV appearances, real Woodward and Bernstein stuff.  Can you say, “Pulitzer?”

If the SEC is fixing games, that’s a full-blown scandal. 

The NCAA would dig into it.  Congress would dig into it.  How would Orrin Hatch feel about Utah getting shut out of the BCS title game by a tainted SEC champ?

For those reasons, there should be dozens of reporters and journalists digging around the league offices in Birmingham right now. 

So how come we’ve not heard or seen any concrete evidence of the commissioner’s plot?



8.  It shouldn’t be too hard to break this story.

When celebrities have affairs, it now makes national news.  When Keifer Sutherland drunkenly jumps into a hotel Christmas tree, it’s captured by cellphone cameras and turned into national news.

Nothing is secret anymore.  Nothing.

The Nixon White House couldn’t even keep a secret among the president’s inner circle and that was nearly 40 years ago, before the information boom.

You mean to tell me that Watergate, the Pentagon Papers, Iran-Contra, and Monica Lewinsky couldn’t be covered up by the most powerful people in the country, but Slive and his band of thievin’ refs CAN keep a secret?

Think about it.  All of the SEC’s officiating crews would have to be in on the conspiracy.  And Slive would have had to tell them to — nudge, nudge, wink, wink — take care of Alabama and Florida.

Then throw in Redding, the coordinator of officials.

You’re talking about 50+ people being in on the plot. 

Do you really think that many people could keep a secret so big?



9.  “What about NBA ref Tim Donaghy?”

What about him?  Some people look at the disgraced former NBA ref who went to jail for fixing games as part of a gambling scheme and say, “He can’t be the only one!”

I look at Donaghy and say his story is proof that other officials AREN’T fixing games. 

People can’t keep these types of things quiet.  The officials have to be quiet.  The gamblers have to be quiet.  The people they tell to bet on the games have to be quiet. 

That many people aren’t capable of being quiet.  That’s how Donaghy wound up in jail.  Somebody always talks.



10.  What is the league prepared to do about snitches?

So let’s say Slive really did tell all of his officials to take care of Alabama and Florida.  Those officials would now OWN the Southeastern Conference.

If just one of those refs went public, the SEC would be finished.  Slive would be ousted and disgraced.  Television contracts would most certainly be nixed, drying up the rivers of cash that currently flow toward each of the SEC’s member institutions. 

Lawmakers would get involved.  The NCAA would get involved.  One whistle-blower would no doubt bring the curtains down on the nation’s best conference.

Realizing that, what would Slive be willing to do with a loose-lipped ref?

Would he and the league pay him millions to stay silent? 

Or would the league have the ref in question rubbed out “Capricorn One” style?

Those would be just about the only two options available to protect the league. 

Pay him. 

Or kill him. 

Does that sound like Slive to you?



11.  Which brings us to the SEC crew that was suspended.

The SEC suspended one officiating crew last month for poor calls made during the Georgia-LSU and Arkansas-Florida games.

That crew — if you believe the conspiracy theorists — was instructed by the league office to help Florida get past Arkansas.

In other words, that crew (or at least some members of that crew) had to have been in on the fix.

So just what have Slive and the SEC given them to insure their silence?  These men have now been punished publicly in front of the nation.  Their names have been seen everywhere from this site to ESPN.

What’s the price for national embarrassment?  What do you have to pay someone whose name you’ve now made public… who you’ve now opened up to personal threats and attacks?

If the conspiracy loons are correct, Marc Curles’ crew must be pretty rich right about now.  ‘Cause someone has to be buying their silence.  There’s no way they would just take one for the team.



12.  “The league wants two teams in BCS bowls!”

This is my personal favorite.  This is the crux of the conspiracy idea:

The SEC — being the greedy scum that they are — decided to cheat their way into dual BCS bids.

Wilbon suggested this on ESPN.  Conspiracy theorists believe it’s the reason that Alabama HAD to beat LSU on Saturday.

Unfortunately, it’s a ridiculous premise.

Florida is #1 and undefeated.  Going into Saturday’s game, LSU had one loss and was ranked #9 while Alabama was undefeated and ranked #3.

The refs took care of Bama to help guarantee an undefeated matchup of UF-UA in the SEC Championship Game… thus making it a lock that the SEC would get two teams in BCS bowls, right? 

Florida (for example) 13-0 = BCS Championship Game
Alabama 12-1 = Sugar Bowl

But here’s the rub.  If LSU had beaten Alabama, both schools would have one loss right now.  LSU, which rose to #8 with their LOSS to Alabama, would have most certainly catapulted past TCU in the BCS standings to #3.

Assuming that everyone wins out — which is the basis of the conspiracy theory — #1 Florida (12-0) would have faced #3 LSU (11-1) in the SEC title game.

Alabama would be sitting at 11-1 at season’s end.

So, if Florida beat LSU in the title game, you could expect to see this:

Florida 13-0 = BCS Championship Game
Alabama 11-1 = Sugar Bowl

And if LSU upset Florida:

LSU 12-1 = BCS Championship Game
Florida 12-1 = Sugar Bowl

You see, the SEC was going to have TWO TEAMS IN BCS BOWLS ANYWAY. 

Then why would Slive and the SEC work so hard and risk so much to cheat LSU and help Alabama? 

They wouldn’t.  They know that the league always gets two teams into the BCS.

Here’s what’s happened since the BCS went to a five-bowl schedule three seasons ago:

2006
Florida = BCS Championship Game
LSU = Sugar Bowl

2007
LSU = BCS Championship Game
Georgia = Sugar Bowl

2008
Florida = BCS Championship Game
Alabama = Sugar Bowl

And the league would have been on track to once again land two more teams in the BCS this year.  Even if LSU had upset Alabama.



Alright, conspiracy buffs, so do you really believe that the SEC was risking its very future in order to secure… nothing? 

That’s absurd.

Bottom line, if you believe Slive and the league have told SEC officials and refs to aid Alabama and Florida, you’re nuts.

Period. 

You’re crazy. 

Read points 1 through 12 again.  If that doesn’t work, hit yourself over the head with a brick.

And, yes, that goes for ESPN’s Wilbon, too.

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