Super Bowl LVIII, featuring the San Francisco 49ers and last year’s champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, will be played Sunday. Speculations about a possible script have been floating around causing doubts about the game’s authenticity.
One of the more popular theories on social media is the colors on the Super Bowl logos matching the teams that are “scripted to play.” Since Super Bowl LVI ,this theory has seemingly proven true with that year’s logo consisting of orange and yellow prior to a Bengals/Rams matchup. This past year, the same thing happened with a teal and red logo appearing before the Chiefs and Eagles were set to play. This year, the logo consisted of red and purple, supposedly representing a Ravens and 49ers matchup.
But, after the Chiefs beat the Ravens 17-10, this theory was seemingly debunked, right? No.
Fans now speculate that the script was changed when the theory began circulating to “put it to rest.”
This theory does not end with just logos though, as some believe that who wins the games is scripted as well. Some fans believe the players have no knowledge of a script, and the people who make it happen are the referees. One redditor thinks since referees are directly employed by the National Football League, it gives viewers a “shiny cushion of plausible deniability” while another asks if you would “leave a multi-billion dollar industry to mere chance?”
But the real question is whether a few referees making false calls can really guarantee a whole game is won in favor of a specific team. Fans often bring up Super Bowl 54, a match up against the Chiefs and 49ers, where, going into the game, the Chiefs o-line was the most penalized in the league and yet did not receive a single call the whole game. The Chiefs won the game, and fans believe the referees’ calls played a major role in the championship.
Fans also believe the NFL is rigged to entice people to bet on games. If someone bets on a game and the referees make sure that the game has a close score line, people will probably want to bet again because they were so close to winning. Others believe games are rigged just to provide more entertainment. Nine of the last 15 Super Bowls saw a close scoreline in which the losing team could’ve won with one more touchdown, which could point to the script theory, but can also be chalked up to chance. If the NFL really wanted to keep people’s attention seemingly every Super Bowl would end with a close scoreline.
With this theory gaining traction in recent years, players, although not denying it, have poked fun at the thought of a script. When asked during a press conference about the logo colors “predicting” a 49ers/Ravens matchup, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he “appreciates everyone bringing so much attention to it cause that got [the Chiefs] into the Super Bowl.” Other players, such as Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and former pro bowl running back, Arian Foster, have made similar comments.
The Super Bowl remains the most watched single sporting event in the country with an average of 112 million viewers every year. Whether referees are bribed to call games in favor of a specific team or the event remains untouched by outside forces, clearly whatever the NFL is doing is working.
