LOL! Many of us have encountered internet police and/or done some policing ourselves. I myself raise my hand in both cases. And if you follow closeted OTP's, Major League Baseball, the NFL, for example, you have likely encountered internet police.
So at the end of Part 1, we saw a plentiful, abundant amount of tweets from NFL/Chiefs/even some Bengals fans who were mighty suspicious of this year's American Football Conference championship game between the KC Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals, the proceedings thereof and outcome. Then, when former Miami Dolphins' coach Brian Flores came forward recently with his civil lawsuit against the NFL for racial discrimination practices,
and one of the factors listed in the allegations included an offer of bribery from his (at that time) team owner to lead the Dolphins in tanking their season, more of a spotlight was placed on the Bengals "victory":
The significance of such an offer would seem to imply that a high draft choice was a motivating factor. The worst win-loss records determine the ranking in the draft, so the NFL's process can work against itself for teams wanting a chance at some of the recent highly talented quarterbacks or other positions that have been available.
Flores is risking a lot, actually everything, by filing the civil lawsuit with these claims. And by him coming forward with this particular mention of bribery, just one week following a loss by the Kansas City Chiefs which, to many, looked very suspicious, it seems to have encouraged some fans to believe their own eyes more than the official NFL version of events.
This post isn't to throw the gavel of endorsement down on every single tweet and say that Coach Flores' allegations are all concrete - although my feeling is that he has everything to lose by filing the lawsuit, so I have to question why a person would carry out a lawsuit of this type, knowing you're likely torpedo'ing your own career with no other self-benefit or reward to fall back on? Wouldn't be the first time someone was blackballed for not following the dictates of owners. Colin Kaepernick anyone?
But part of the goal here is to show that these weren't just a few random opinions and feelings by disgruntled fans. They are some of many. And the emotions/tweets seemed to follow stages of disbelief, then blame, analysis, and finally after Brian Flores' mention of bribery in exchange for him purposely losing games, that was enough for fans to say hey, is it out of the realm of possibility that Mahomes and the Chiefs were told to throw the game?
Narnia says it is not that far out of the realm of possibility. This particular video posted on You Tube was an interesting study if you want to take a look and the uploader points out suspect plays in the game. There are over 62k views on the video and 1,010 comments, so if you have questions about what you watched, you would have some company in the comment threads. We're not looking for validation, just opening our minds to possibilities and asking, were our eyes deceiving us? When you have such stark contrasts between two halves of football, particularly in a game involving one of the league's premier quarterbacks, who already had prior post-season and Super Bowl experience, one can't help but wonder what in the heck happened?
And so needless to say, the Chiefs Kingdom of fans were (to use J2's PR team's words) "gutted" after this loss. 😉 One half of a game away from going to a third straight Super Bowl - it was, well it was looking so promising! Chiefs fans take their Chiefs football seriously and this weird Jekyll/Hyde game threw them into the depths of devastation. They weren't happy because of the unexplained downward death spiral that the team took. And when some folks dare to speak their mind regarding their disappointment, displeasure, or unhappiness, there will always be fans (or local media in the Chiefs' case) who interpret and label criticism as "hate".
On. And on. And on.
This happens in other fandoms. Internet policing.
And what about this kind of following ridicule and hostile chatter? One of these accounts is not only host of a podcast, but is a sports writer and works at a Kansas City radio station. And he's engaging with these kinds of discriminatory words about those who were questioning the outcome of the game?
Hear this. Criticism? Expressions of disappointment? Discouragement? Questioning? That's not "hate". Nor is it political. Get over it. Someone can be a fan, but still not like a behavior or habit. It's allowed and it's not hating on someone. Nor does it have to have anything to do with political affiliations.
Now, back to the Chiefs and Sunday, January 30.
Interestingly enough, following their games, Coach Andy Reid always speaks with the press. He's normally followed by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and then a few other players. On Sunday, January 30, Patrick was the fifth person to the podium. Andy Reid spoke first, followed by Tyrann Mathieu, Frank Clark, Mecole Hardman, (I could have Tyrann, Frank and Mecole out of order in appearance, but they followed Andy) and finally came Patrick Mahomes. This lineup did not follow previous patterns and it was a noticeable delay. One might've wondered if Patrick was very upset after such a loss. But if you look back at Patrick during his post-game press conference in January 2019 after his first AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots, you can clearly see how emotional he was.
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| Patrick at post-game presser following AFCCG 2019 |
While solemn and sedate in the post-game presser of the Chiefs/Bengals game last month, there is a difference. One could probably say that age and experience could make a difference, but does losing after being so close to another Super Bowl ever get easier?
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| Patrick at post-game presser of AFCCG 2022 |
The game was followed by a few players' tweets, all professing their love for the fandom, aka Chiefs Kingdom,
and Patrick,
and the team,
Another interesting aside was that normally on Mondays following Sunday games, Patrick Mahomes has a radio show on Kansas City radio station 610 AM at 2:15pm with host Carrington Harrison. It's not too long and they discuss the previous game, plus other topics, kind of an "up close and personal" chat. This particular Monday on January 31 following the championship game, it was anticipated that Patrick would appear one last time for the season. Alas, this would not be so.
On Monday, opening the show host Harrison stated, "Typically we are joined at 2:15 by Patrick Mahomes. I was under the impression that Patrick Mahomes would be on the show today. I planned for Patrick Mahomes to be on the show today. The Chiefs obviously had another plan. He will not be on the show today. I am hopeful that he will be on the show by the end of the week, but I don't know. I just wanted to update you guys on everything that's happening regarding Patrick Mahomes' normal Monday appearance. Some things are out of my control."
👀👀👀 Again, rather interesting. Why not? If the Chiefs had figured that there would not be any more radio shows following the regular season, you would think that the radio station would have known this already.
But hey, the future is bright! Even though the Chiefs had finished in first place in the west...were defenders of the AFC from the previous season, and had been primed to win the AFC again, it was as though the team had plummeted in value and standing, so there was much room to rise again? "Getting Ourselves Built Back Up" ?? Perhaps they really meant getting fan morale built back up after such a devastating, befuddling loss? [or it could be in anticipation of losing many players due to restructuring and free agency loss, but that's a whole other story! 😉]
On February 2, it was time to remind the fans that they were loved,
The next day, February 3, tweeted photos and videos appeared in what would quickly become a Twitter gusher, showing the six player representatives in attendance at this year's Pro Bowl game. The Chiefs official twitter account flooded timelines with a Goodwill Tour, appearing to be intent on helping fans to forget and feel grateful for this Pro Bowl (an all-star) game, one which many players often forgo. This year, it was all hands on deck.
Messages to #ChiefsKingdom - hope we make you proud, love you, Go Chiefs, we love you...
"You heard 'em!! We love you #ChiefsKingdom"
Travis Kelce professing twice, "We love you! We love you!" sounded like someone who felt like they were in the doghouse, lol, and trying to win back favor. It was not his usual swagger whooping and hollering, let's just put it that way.
Autographs,
There were more videos and tweets, but let's move to Day 2. Additional autographs and selfies. Excuse me, "sunshine & smiles",
Signing things and offering to hold babies,
Travis with kids! Always a winner. Who doesn't love Travis with kids? Even though the children on the field were affiliated with the players; in this case, Travis already knew these cute children. But it's playful and showcases a family-friendly atmosphere.
Practice photos and videos. Patrick being a Man of the People! More autographs and time with kids.
And more reinforcement of how awesome the #ChiefsKingdom is. And Chiefs fans are everywhere!
Chiefs fans are "the best in the league".
Game day for the Pro Bowl was treated like a regular game. There were arrival videos of Patrick and Travis,
And fans could feel good because Tyrann Mathieu and Travis Kelce were named captains,
"Family Photo". At the Pro Bowl.
and more videos and greetings to #ChiefsKingdom from individual players, all documenting the day. All for the Chiefs fans. I don't know about anyone else, but I was worn out from all the warm and fuzzy. So many good feels! In truth, it was overwhelming!!
The love and appreciation from the Pro Bowl was thick. No doubt about it. The players' jovial moods were all on display. Several of them even attended the NHL All Star Game on Saturday, Feb 5, which was held at T-Mobile Arena right there in Las Vegas.
That was Travis' team's promotional plug. Of course, Patrick's team had to get in their own plug as well, not surprisingly by marketer Jacquelyn Dahl's speed dial source, The New York Post.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill was there as well, showing everyone they were all having such a great time. The first photo was after he "stoned cold" two cans of beverage over his face.
I have to say that seemed uncharacteristic of Tyreek? Yes, he is very good friends with Patrick and Travis. The offense is tight and they have a lot of fondness, loyalty for one another and have done quite a bit of socializing over the past years, as has been seen on their social media. And you can just tell how fond they are of each other and get along. But you don't often see Tyreek on these higher profile outings. He does have small children and whether or not that's the sole reason, I'm not sure. But it was quite odd to see him "out and about" like this. Patrick and Travis, not so odd. And as per usual, they're normally not allowed to hang out together like this without the stiletto'd side cars, Brittany Matthews and Kayla Nicole.
🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈
So, now the players will slip away into the off season for the most part. (Dahl will have the "marriage" of Mahomes to Matthews to promote during the month of March which will no doubt produce much widespread local and national tabloid ballyhoo.)
All these before mentioned examples point to a team who has been observably bending over backwards to distract and shift the focus from fans questioning their professional reputations to directing attention to how much the team loves their peeps. Inference: we would never not give 100 percent in every single game. We love you.
Hoping fans will have the memory of a goldfish, the technique is infused with all kinds of manipulation and ultimately, gaslighting. In other words, making fans question their own perceptions of reality.
At this point, Narnia has to ask that, given how WME/Endeavor and greedy agents like Chris Cabott, Scott Boras, and CAA's Tom Condon (former Chiefs player) are heavily involved in the sports world, including the NFL; is this kind of deception going to pervade the game more and more? Where there are vast amounts of money involved, there is corruption, and many, many secrets. From closeted players to racial discrimination to tanking.
Yes, the NFL is part of the entertainment industry, but it is far more than that. It's about the integrity of the game. Sportsmanship. Fairness and teamwork. Commitment. In other words, values that go far beyond Win-Loss statistics, and simply amusing people. Like with Hollywood and the music industry, will teams and players be rewarded more and more not for their talents, perseverance and fair play, but for being in lockstep with TPTB and the narratives they want crafted. Made to keep their mouths shut with iron-clad NDA's?
We've seen this business model before and we can assure you, there's no way the ending to this story will be a happy one.
Collaboration: Prairie Girl and Methodical Muser
pic sources: Giphy, gifer, tenor, community pearljam, YouTube
our playlist: I Don't Wanna Know - Phil Collins
Convince Me Otherwise - Maroon 5
Pretty Vegas - INXS
Ramblin' Gamblin' Man (Live) - Bob Seger
Lost - Kris Allen
I Wanna Go Back - Eddie Money
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