Welcome back to FreeForAll Tuesday, in which we riff on the perils of gambling in the NFL, the future of the Big Indian and the sounds of the best voice in the history of soul-n-roll. Enjoy. It don’t cost nothin’.
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If gambling is permitted freely on sporting events, normal incidents of the game such as bad snaps, dropped passes, turnovers, penalties and play calling inevitably will fuel speculation, distrust and accusations of point-shaving or game-fixing.’’ — Roger Goodell, 2012.
circalasvegas.com
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The game’s not rigged. Let’s start with that. The Super Bowl’s not a hoax, the NFL didn’t fix the AFC title game and Travis Kelce will not be asking Taylor Swift to marry him on the field at halftime on Sunday.
Having KC in the Super Bowl might be an annoyance for some fans — familiarity breeds contempt and all that — but, wild guess, the Chiefs presence in the game was not mandated/orchestrated by Biden’s re-election campaign.
And Elvis truly has left the building. Even though you claim to have seen him a few years back in a 24-hour Waffle House just outside Tupelo, MS.
LOL.
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During the Chiefs' W over Baltimore two Sundays ago, a half-baked named Mike Crispi, who hosts a podcast on the right-wing Salem Media Group, posted a rant claiming the NFL had "RIGGED" a Chiefs victory.
"All to spread DEMOCRAT PROPAGANDA. Calling it now: KC wins, goes to Super Bowl, Swift comes out at the halftime show and 'endorses' Joe Biden with Kelce at midfield. It's all been an op since day one," Crispi wrote on X.
(LOVE THE ALL-CAPS, CRISPI MAN!)
Yes, and we’re all confident Crispi WILL RETRACT ALL HE WROTE AND APOLOGIZE FOR IT!, when Taylor’s Martian bridesmaids do not land at the 50 in the middle of the Usher concert.
This is benign stuff compared to the lies spread by fringe lunatics like Alex Jones, who claimed the murders of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary were a hoax perpetrated by the federal government. Nuts gonna nut.
Problem is, perception is reality for some. It’s not that legalized gambling has made fixing games a reality. It’s that legalized gambling has planted that perception in the minds of people who are not fringe lunatics.
Truth: Have you watched games this fall and questioned what you’re seeing? Do the games occasionally cause you to say, “Whuh?’’
Mike Florio runs the influential and respected ProFootballTalk website. He posted this Monday:
I’m on the front lines of fan interaction, every hour of every day. People think the games are rigged. That the outcomes are predetermined. That the red and purple Super Bowl LVIII logo meant the 49ers and Ravens would meet in the Super Bowl, until the NFL decided that it wanted the Chiefs and Taylor Swift in the Super Bowl instead.
It hasn’t helped that this season the officiating has ranged from mildly curious to game-changing incompetent.
Goodell was asked about all that Monday, in a press conference in front of media members hand-picked by the league. “The integrity of our game is critical,” he said. “We spend a lot of time educating, making sure that all of our personnel are aware of our gambling policies in this case or any other policy that can affect the integrity of our game.’’
Goodell said betting on games, if you’re a league employee, is a fire-able offense. Players are suspended a year for betting on league games and two years for betting on their team. He said 13 players and 25 league workers have been suspended or fired for gambling offenses.
That’s good, but it doesn’t address the possibility that key performers — QBs, say — might be vulnerable to bribes, extortion, physical harm etc. Patrick Mahomes might make $40 million a year, theoretically making him invulnerable to a payoff, but Brock Purdy makes just $934,252.
Goodell didn’t go there. Or at least he wasn’t presented with that scenario. Instead, he passed the buck to the Supreme Court:
“We understand the risk. We did not make the decision. Ultimately the decision was a decision by the Supreme Court: They legalized sports betting. We have to adapt. We have to embrace it.’’
It’s all but logistically impossible to rig an NFL game. Too many moving parts. But getting to an impact player making league minimum?
In 2023, an estimated 50 million Americans wagered roughly $16 billion on Super Bowl 57. That amount is expected to top $23 bil this year, says the American Gaming Association. Theoretically, it’s important that the games are legit. Otherwise, they’re nothing more than WWE. Who bets on WWE?
Someone, somewhere, will wager a mil on the color of the Gatorade tossed on the winning coach. I’m hearing ELVIS IS GUARDING THE GATORADE, aided by a coupla hound dogs.
Now, then. . .
IS THE BIG INDIAN A BIG DEAL? There is no winning in the argument over mascots. The ‘62 Mets had a better chance of being world champions than fans of the Big Indian have of convincing people of the correctness, er, rightness of their argument.
The Lost Decade Bengals would have won a Super Bowl or several before we’d all agree on what to do with the Big Indian.
Who or what is the Big Indian, Doc?
The Big Indian. (Enquirer)
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He’s this guy. His story is well told in the Enquirer today.
BI is a very large sign that has filled the Carthage viewscape for seven decades. Enquirer:
Seen for years as a harmless curiosity or a gaudy neighborhood landmark, the bow-legged caricature with a yellow feather sprouting from his head is now viewed by some as an embarrassment. He’s a relic, they say, a 42-foot-tall vestige of a time when it was OK to sell maple syrup or ball caps or, in this case, used cars with mascots and logos that lean hard into ethnic and racial stereotypes.
There is no correct answer. Or, rather, no answer that does not stereotype you one way or another. You like BI, you’re a BI-got. You don’t like BI, you’re a PC snowflake.
No one ever left a meeting about the former nicknames of Anderson High School and Miami University feeling content and happy.
Here’s how I see it: If something is offensive to an ethnic group of which I am not a part, I roll with their viewpoint because, who TF am I to decide what they should/shouldn’t be offended by?
Here’s also how I see it: What’s the Context and Intent. What was meant by Big Indian? Was it to sell used cars or mock a people?
How I see it: Perception is reality (see above). If there’s a chance that people who once looked at, say, Chief Wahoo did not see a proud member of an ethnic group but rather a grinning idiot, then the Chief needs to be retired.
How I see it: While we’re protesting a 70-year-old sign, what are we doing for the people living on reservations? In the Big Picture, what’s more meaningful, helping people live better or removing the Big Indian?
A third prong to this is the idea that we can’t improve people’s lives until we take them seriously. A 42-foot-tall metal man with a feather affixed to his head is not exactly a beacon of respect.
So. . . what, Mobsters?
TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . In my opinion, the greatest effort by one of the greatest voices in the history of soul-n-roll. And somewhat appropriate to the discussion today. The world don’t get no better, if we just let it be.
That Heart-Well Indian has a name. It's Joe Wahoo. He is the brother of Jim Wahoo, former fireballin' right handed pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, who had to retire early due to arm troubles. He later joined the Cleveland Fire Dept, where he was the first Indignant Person to become Chief. Meanwhile brother Joe was offered a scholarship to play basketball for the Miami Redskins back in the day, but had to quit because they couldn't find shoes or a bed big enough for the 44 footer. Gradually he drifted into car sales in the Cincy area, where he was known for his kind heart and big smile, as was his brother. People called him Big Chief Heart-Well nearby the Grounds of Fairness. The brothers grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, where their dad, a 1st gen immigrant from India, worked for the Indiana Police. That made him an Indianapolis Indiana Indian Indiana Police man from India. Whew! Later in life the bros started the Wahoo Tacos franchise, where they serve- chiefly- wahoo tacos. The Wahoo is a very tasty fish similar to May He?-May He! I got all this from WiKiWacki Impediments, my favorite information source on the Wild Webbed Whirl, founded by Sam Wyche and Al Gore. I have references for everything here.
Hot button topics today Doc! Your song of the day was soulful and Teddys voice truly was one of the greatest in soul. As for gambling..how to know? Misinformation , revenge orProof? At my age watching so many supposed icons and mascots etc biting the dust I'm at a loss as to how to feel. I never, ever felt I was disrespecting any group by looking at a statue or cheering with mascot.