# Sports Conspiracy Theories **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 5, 2014, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094 "2014-06-05T04:41:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/101 "2014-07-28T19:51:27Z")
> [@Fleetwood](#): > > No they wouldn’t. If Baltimore won the game the NFL would have been 1-0 vs. the AFL, SBIII was the only ‘inter-league’ game that season. The first season of the merged NFL (AFC-NFC) was 1970, ending with SBV, which the AFC champion Baltimore defeated the NFC champ Dallas. The earlier poster may have been including preseason games (the 49ers and Raiders, for example, played an annual preseason game that predates the merger). Of course, we all know how well preseason success translates to Super Bowl rings… ---
**Author:** ![davethehammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davethehammer/32/7317_2.png) [@davethehammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davethehammer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/102 "2015-03-20T20:30:46Z")
pro sports is staged-period ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/103 "2015-03-20T20:43:24Z")
> [@davethehammer](#): > > pro sports is staged-period Cite? ---
**Author:** ![davethehammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davethehammer/32/7317_2.png) [@davethehammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davethehammer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/104 "2015-03-20T21:03:37Z")
heck…you can go to UCLAs game yesterday LOL SMU throws a lame pass right to a ucla player and then ucla just throws a 3 pointer at the basket that a smu player jumps at. Its no where near the rim but its called goal tending and never questioned. Ucla had no business even being in the tourney but got an 11 seed. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/105 "2015-03-20T21:06:14Z")
College isn’t pro sports. ---
**Author:** ![davethehammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davethehammer/32/7317_2.png) [@davethehammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davethehammer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/106 "2015-03-20T21:36:38Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > College isn’t pro sports. major college and pro sports is affected regardless. Derek Jeter just happens to get an RBI single his last at bat at yankee stadium and then his last at bat ever is a hit in Boston. I don’t give a damn if your rep is timely hitting. How damn lucky are you to get 2 hits in the most perfect of situations when its hard as heck to get hits 3 out of 10 times annually. the Ohio State Buckeys win a national championship with a 22 year old QB who only played 3 full games up to that point and all ready made it perfectly clear he never goes to a class ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/107 "2015-03-20T21:37:56Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > They may not have been making a good faith effort to win that game, but both teams were trying to win the tournament. If you can get out of the group stage and save a little energy, that’s the sound, strategic thing to do. We’re not talking about throwing a game because you’re being paid to or bet on the other team. Each team was doing what was in their own best interest. Well, clearly, SOMEBODY thought what those two teams did that year tainted the sport in some way or the honchos in FIFA wouldn’t have changed the rules for subsequent World Cups (now all four teams in each first round group finish group play at the SAME TIME on the SAME DAY). As others have noted I’m not what you’d call a “big fan” of _Die Nationalmannschaft_ and all the unsavory events surrounding that particular team that year are a BIG (though definitely not the ONLY) part of the reason why. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/108 "2015-03-20T21:39:39Z")
> [@davethehammer](#): > > major college and pro sports is affected regardless. > > Derek Jeter just happens to get an RBI single his last at bat at yankee stadium and then his last at bat ever is a hit in Boston. > > I don’t give a damn if your rep is timely hitting. How damn lucky are you to get 2 hits in the most perfect of situations when its hard as heck to get hits 3 out of 10 times annually. > the Ohio State Buckeys win a national championship with a 22 year old QB who only played 3 full games up to that point and all ready made it perfectly clear he never goes to a class To be fair, if you’re gonna knock college football (and basketball too, for that matter) teams for having star players who never go to class, then you’re gonna be taking the titles away from a LOT of college football and basketball teams from over the years! ---
**Author:** ![davethehammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davethehammer/32/7317_2.png) [@davethehammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davethehammer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/109 "2015-03-20T21:46:56Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > To be fair, if you’re gonna knock college football (and basketball too, for that matter) teams for having star players who never go to class, then you’re gonna be taking the titles away from a LOT of college football and basketball teams from over the years! bread and circus’s. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/110 "2015-03-20T21:51:07Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > You see this in hockey too. Far too many playoff series go something like this: A clearly dominant team pulls ahead 3 games to 0 in the (best of 7) finals. At this point, the sucky team suddenly comes alive and wins the next 2 or 3 games before finally being knocked out by the better team. Yes, outcomes like this do happen, but they seem to be suspiciously common. Are they really? In 2014 only two series went to 3-0. One was swept (Montreal over Tampa) and one was the Kings famously coming all the way back against San Jose. In 2013 three series went 3-0. Two were swept, and in the other the team down won one game. In 2012 five series went 3-0. Two saw the team behind win two games, three saw them win one. In 2011 five series went 3-0. In two a team came back to win three games. In three, it finished in a sweep. So in the last four playoffs, in 15 series that started 3-0, the record of the team that fell behind is, by game: Game 4: 9-6 Game 5: 2-4 Game 6: 1-2 Game 7: 1-2 Frankly, this seems very much within random chance to me. ---
**Author:** ![davethehammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davethehammer/32/7317_2.png) [@davethehammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davethehammer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/111 "2015-03-20T21:57:31Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Are they really? > > In 2014 only two series went to 3-0. One was swept (Montreal over Tampa) and one was the Kings famously coming all the way back against San Jose. > > In 2013 three series went 3-0. Two were swept, and in the other the team down won one game. > > In 2012 five series went 3-0. Two saw the team behind win two games, three saw them win one. > > In 2011 five series went 3-0. In two a team came back to win three games. In three, it finished in a sweep. > > So in the last four playoffs, in 15 series that started 3-0, the record of the team that fell behind is, by game: > > Game 4: 9-6 > Game 5: 2-4 > Game 6: 1-2 > Game 7: 1-2 > > Frankly, this seems very much within random chance to me. the league works as a single unit. They can pick and choose the series they want to toy with. Kings first Stanley was pretty easy with near sweeps and then they magically win every 7th game last year. And the guy that scores the winning goal has a Spanish/Mexican last name on a team in LA. that’s not an accident ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/112 "2015-03-20T23:22:52Z")
Probably over too long a period to be a conspiracy but lots of friendly hometown scoring led to the continuation of Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/113 "2015-03-20T23:58:41Z")
> [@davethehammer](#): > > And the guy that scores the winning goal has a Spanish/Mexican last name on a team in LA. that’s not an accident How so? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![davethehammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davethehammer/32/7317_2.png) [@davethehammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davethehammer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/114 "2015-03-21T00:06:12Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Probably over too long a period to be a conspiracy but lots of friendly hometown scoring led to the continuation of Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak. theres plenty of data over the years that show home teams even with losing records have usually more home wins (redundant) you cant just say-home field advantage without allowing for manipulation for a team. home team-home crowd- wins generate spending-happy community etc ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/115 "2015-03-21T00:27:09Z")
> [@davethehammer](#): > > theres plenty of data over the years that show home teams even with losing records have usually more home wins (redundant) > > you cant just say-home field advantage without allowing for manipulation for a team. > > home team-home crowd- wins generate spending-happy community etc Home teams have a backing crowd. They probably slept in their own bed the night before. In baseball, they have the last at bat. In hockey they have the last opportunity to decide who goes out on the ice. There are many, many reasons why home teams in all sports have an advantage; conspiracy by the league isn’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![davethehammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davethehammer/32/7317_2.png) [@davethehammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davethehammer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/116 "2015-03-21T00:38:25Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Home teams have a backing crowd. They probably slept in their own bed the night before. In baseball, they have the last at bat. In hockey they have the last opportunity to decide who goes out on the ice. There are many, many reasons why home teams in all sports have an advantage; conspiracy by the league isn’t one of them. what you are noticing is they make sure they put rules and myths and clichés in place so you reason that it happened for natural reasons. there are many reasons ? really ? yes, it was made possible to keep the home crowd happy. having last at bat while behind makes it possible to stage a come from behind win for the home crowd. ---
**Author:** ![davethehammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davethehammer/32/7317_2.png) [@davethehammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davethehammer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/117 "2015-03-21T00:39:50Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > How so? :dubious: LA has a high population of those people. Not your typical hockey crowd ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/118 "2015-03-21T00:47:27Z")
> [@davethehammer](#): > > the league works as a single unit. They can pick and choose the series they want to toy with. > > Kings first Stanley was pretty easy with near sweeps and then they magically win every 7th game last year. And the guy that scores the winning goal has a Spanish/Mexican last name on a team in LA. that’s not an accident So if t hey win with “near sweps” it’s a fix, but if they win several series in the 7th game, that’s ALSO a fix? Not very consistent. Also, who benefits from this “fix”, other than the Kings? You are obviously insinuating that because the winning goal was scored by a guy with a Hispanic last name, that’s supposed to somehow turn the Hispanic community in Southern California into hockey fans? If a team is going to win a pre-arranged championship, why would it be a team in a blase location, where no one but the fans is going to care? Why not set it up for a team from Canada, which would get the attention of millions of fans, instead of having all the Canadian teams fail to win a title in 22 years? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/119 "2015-03-21T00:48:51Z")
> [@davethehammer](#): > > what you are noticing is they make sure they put rules and myths and clichés in place so you reason that it happened for natural reasons. > > there are many reasons ? really ? yes, it was made possible to keep the home crowd happy. > > having last at bat while behind makes it possible to stage a come from behind win for the home crowd. Dave. Someone has to have last bat. Someone has to have last line change. Should the visitors get the advantage or the home team? You’re over thinking this. Of course home teams should have the advantage. There are only two possibilities and pleasing the home crowd sells more tickets. It’s not a conspiracy; it’s how marketing works in harmony with required rules. ---
**Author:** ![davethehammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davethehammer/32/7317_2.png) [@davethehammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davethehammer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094/120 "2015-03-21T01:26:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Dave. Someone has to have last bat. Someone has to have last line change. Should the visitors get the advantage or the home team? You’re over thinking this. Of course home teams should have the advantage. There are only two possibilities and pleasing the home crowd sells more tickets. It’s not a conspiracy; it’s how marketing works in harmony with required rules. who said conspiracy ? Its called intelligent skepticism.I already know its a fact that games are staged. and you again admit to pleasing a home crowd. If you are giving advantage you are admitting to influencing an outcome in a predetermined fashion. the Stars get the calls = premeditated,staged outcome. more popular basketball team that the nation is more interested in seeing in the playoffs gets 40 free throws to the opposing teams 10 free throws = manipulated and staged. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-conspiracy-theories/690094.md?page=7)