What If: a Super Bowl was discovered to be rigged?

In 1989 an author named Dan Moldea released a book called "Interference: How Organized Crime Influences Professional Football" in which he claimed, with evidence, that most owners in the NFL at the time were involved with organized crime, and that games were being regularly rigged to manipulate the betting.

Let's say that more evidence comes to light, though, enough evidence to put it beyond reasonable doubt, that at least one super bowl in recent memory (let's say a Super Bowl from the 80s) was rigged on the part of owners, coaches, and some of the players to manipulate the betting pool to their advantage.

For further discussion, two branching paths on this what if:

1) The league itself is involved in some way, either being involved in the process or discovering it afterwards and attempting to cover it up.

2) The league had no knowledge of it.
 
That might be kind of cool. But I suspect that it'll lead to a strike among football players somehow and several months of investigations, just in time for the new season to start.
 
In situation 1, if it happens early enough, the USFL could gain a huge amount of support and supplant the NFL as the "major league" for football. In fact that would probably be the perfect way to keep them afloat as a group. The anti-trust ruling may not have helped them but disillusionment with the NFL and thus a shift in fans would.
 
The what if scenario occurs in 1989, it should be noted. The what if is Moldea discovers this smoking gun (more like smoking atom bomb) and centers his book around it. So it's too late for the USFL, as sad as that is for a fellow fan of that an all the other also-ran pro leagues.
 
Well Focusing on Situation #1: If the NFL gets caught red-handed by the USFL, It could make more support by moving the USFL to September which will lead to the End of the National Football League, and if you want to do some research outside of the Computer just read a Book by Jim Byrne called "The $1 League" which is about the USFL's History, Well However if the USFL could continue a tradition called The Super Bowl after the NFL Comes to an end I Hope Phil Simms can lead the Donald Trump-owned New Jersey Generals to the Super Bowl!
 
The POD is 1989, but the speculation about the USFL is intersting, I'll admit.

So, two more divergences, let's say the league gets caught during the 1982 strike shortened season.

The other possibility is the other 1989 POD.
 
"et's say that more evidence comes to light, though, enough evidence to put it beyond reasonable doubt, that at least one super bowl in recent memory (let's say a Super Bowl from the 80s)

Why wait until the '80s...
What if a watershed moment in the building of the NFL behemoth was fabricated?

THE FIX WAS IN?.png

THE FIX WAS IN?.png
 
The POD is 1989, but the speculation about the USFL is intersting, I'll admit.

So, two more divergences, let's say the league gets caught during the 1982 strike shortened season.

The other possibility is the other 1989 POD.

Okay By a Flip of a Coin Let's Say Heads is 1982, Tails might be 1989, However if i flipped a coin and chose Heads that Means the NFL Cancels the 1982 NFL Season and hopefully the league itself to make way for the USFL, and i got a feeling that in 1983: Arizona Wranglers, Birmingham Stallions, Chicago Blitz, Denver Gold, Los Angeles Express, Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, Oakland Invaders, Philadelphia Stars, San Francisco Breakers (was Boston Breakers), Tampa Bay Bandits and the Washington Federals are around however there will be 16 more teams like the Pittsburgh Maulers, Houston Gamblers, Dallas Lone Stars, New England Americans, Seattle Surge, Cleveland Bulldogs, Buffalo Stampeders, etc. as a result the USFL acquires every single NFL Player from 1982 before the NFL Shuts Down it's operations after 62 years, so Imagine that Joe Montana to the San Francisco Breakers, Ron Jaworski as a Philadelphia Star, Jim McMahon as a Chicago Blitz QB, and so on, and the game will still take place in the Fall, However Marcus Allen led his Invaders to the 1st USFL Championship and won over the Chicago Blitz led by Jim McMahon 27-20 at Tampa Stadium, well so now you know that the USFL started it's 1st Season after the NFL Shuts Down for Good in 1982.
 
Another interesting possibility: let's say in '95 evidence comes to light that coach Marc Levy and star players on the Buffalo Bills (Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, etc. etc.) were involved in fixing every single super bowl the four years they went in order to make it big on betting against themselves.
 
You mean like Superbowl III between the Colts and Jets?:mad::eek:

It has been suggested and I believe a book written about it

The theory is/was that with the upcoming merger of the NFL and AFL if the AFL lost a third time in three years the idea that the two leagues were no where near equal would be confirmed.

'Proof' that has been offered was that the Owner of the Colts was allowed to 'trade' his franchise for the very lucrative Los Angeles team as soon as the season was over. And that plays were called for teh colts offense that made no sense at the time, The Colts Quarterback (Morrell) threw 3 interceptions and was eventually pulled and Johnny Unitas sent in and scored Baltimore's only TD.

There are several Web articles on it and Bubba Smith (BALTIMORE Colts Icon) was very vocal on the subject for years

Alternate History would be a POD that the fix wasn't in and the Colts beat the Jets! :D:rolleyes:
 
Unless you have unavoidable evidence you're going to have everyone who makes money on football try to bury the story. This includes the major networks.
 

Cook

Banned
This is terrible! Next you’ll be suggesting professional athletes might be using performance enhancing drugs!
:eek:
 
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