The largest sport in America is American Football, played most popularly in the NFL. The league provides entertainment as the players make the game fun both through their play and through their on field antics, which include celebrating and trash talking on the field.
The biggest games draw the most people and provide us with the most exciting moments and plays throughout them. Whether it’s making the miraculous catch on a fourth down to keep the game alive or the game coming down to a kicker making it through the uprights. Moments like these draw the most attention and are what makes this sport amazing. Add in the heated rivalries between the teams and you get absolute cinema.
Now for the downsides. First off, the “best team” in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs, are a team that gets the most help from the referees. Their games against other powerhouses, while exciting in nature, are filled with controversy. This is directly influenced by the officiating crew. They essentially treat the team like they’re almighty and either call the worst penalties to help ensure the team can get a first down and not give up yards to the opposing offense or even worse, not call any of the clear and obvious fouls.
What makes it even worse is that the referees are horrible overall. They seemingly cannot make the right call. This makes people believe that games are rigged and scripted. At the end of the day, the referees can single handedly control how a game goes and determine who wins and who loses.
The other aspect as it relates to the Chiefs is the NFL constantly showing singer Taylor Swift during their games. We get that she’s dating Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, but that doesn’t mean you need to show her after every play. This has brought frustration to many fans as she is constantly shown.
Tony Romo, an announcer, is also part of the problem, with him showing bias by always comparing plays and players to quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He also, like most announcers, doesn’t mention the penalties that aren’t called when they should be.
The last thing that makes people unhappy with the NFL is the lack of physicality and the NFL seemingly taking the fun out of the league. The NFL, while it is meant to protect its players by enforcing the rules it does, seems to have gone soft. Big hits are not found in the league today and if there is one, it’s a penalty.
The league is also soft, as players can’t express themselves by celebrating because they will be flagged and possibly fined for taunting. Taunts are what make insane games and rivalries go to the next level. Everyone is disrespecting the other when a big play is made, yet the league frowns upon it and takes away their right to expression.
While the NFL may be entertaining, there are glaring problems with it that raise the question of how great it actually is. The integrity of the referees compiled with the ever-growing hatred of the Chiefs will be something that will plague the NFL for years to come. If nothing is done, we can expect for the issue to remain so damaging for years to come.
