Saturday, 4 a.m.
Things being what they are, I suspect the Kansas City Chiefs are going to win another Super Bowl this week. Yawn if you will.
Things going the way they go, I suspect it will come after a controversial call. Scream if you wish.
I say that because the Chiefs win a lot of close games, and they seem to get a lot of close calls along the way. It happens that way for greatness. Michael Jordan used to get a load of calls. Greg Maddox lived about a foot outside of the strike zone. It’s the rule of the jungle; great players get close calls.
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And so the Chiefs will get a roughing-the-passer call, or a defensive holding call, as they march toward the winning score, and fans will act as if Taylor Swift herself descended from her skybox to make the call. They’ll put out semi-amusing little films, and they’ll suggest that Roger Goodell has made a deal to screw the poor Eagles, and great fun will be had by all.
The sad part? Some people will believe it. They’ll act as if Swift the wicked witch of the midwest, and the referees are in her pocket, and the whole sport is acting on a script from pro wrestling, especially the part where Jalen Hurts is thrown over the top rope,
Look, grousing about the officials is almost as old as the rules. The other side is always cheating. The zebras always hate your team. I get it. Tom Brady got calls that Jameis Winston didn't. Barry Sanders got calls that Lars Tate didn't. It happens.
But over the years, I’ve gotten to know a few umpires and referees, and they bust their rears to get the call right. They often do not. But, no, they aren’t all crooked and working for the other team. If you believe that, then really, why would you watch?
I’ll be honest. In the AFC conference title game, I thought Josh Allen had made the first down on that much-talked-about fourth-and-one. He was marked short. But, no, no one was on the phone to Goodell, and no one thought, “hey, let’s screw the Bills.” I just thought the refs missed the call. No, Clyde Barrow didn’t make the call.
The internet is everywhere. And these days, no one simply loses a close game. They get robbed. The commissioner didn’t want them to win. They refs were crooked. And on and on.
I’ve gone back and forth with this game. One minute, I think Saquon Barkley is the best player in the game and he’ll be the difference. The next, I acknowledge that the Chiefs are a team that knows how to win and they’ll pull another one out. I think Mahomes is the better quarterback, and lately, that’s been the difference in these games. I think the Eagles have better receivers. And so it goes, back and forth.
In the end, you go with the story. One team winning three straight for the first time is a fine story.
Prediction: Kansas City 23, Philadelphia 21.
Meet you here next week to gripe about the officials.