Often, the games of basketball, hockey, soccer, among others are not enough in and of themselves. For further entertainment, fans of sports are always looking deeper into the games to see if there is anything is secret and sinister just beneath the surface. While most people are ridiculed for coming up with crazy conspiracy theories, there are actually a few that are pretty interesting…
5. Patrick Ewing and the "Bent Card"
Patrick Ewing: basketball legend, Hall-of-Famer, and the player who was responsible for bringing basketball glory back to New York City. It's a great story…except for the controversy that surrounds his draft year.
The worst teams in the league have the highest chances of winning the draft "lottery" (which decides the draft ranking), with better teams having lower chances. For this lottery, the NBA put cards into a globe and then pulled them out at random. Watch this video to see (look for the bend in the card as he pulls it out).
Why Do People Believe It?
For many, it just makes sense. The New York Knicks had been a struggling team for a long time. The city was very important to the NBA financially as most refer to New York as the "Mecca" of basketball. So, you have a struggling team and in the first ever NBA draft, a top prospect comes along that could change the future of the Knicks organization.
Believability Rating: 6/10 - This one's a pretty good theory. It's just that, for a league as rich as the NBA, you would think that they would have done this in a more secretive manner (if it is true). I mean, if some guy on youtube can crack the secret, the NBA is pretty lame.
4. Michael Jordan Never Retired in 1993
Michael Jordan is one of the greatest athletes of all time. Period. He dominated basketball for years and then shocked the world when he announced his retirement in the middle of his prime. That's right - after winning the championship for the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW, he decided to leave basketball to go fulfil his dream and honour his deceased father by playing baseball.
The Conspiracy: In the summer of his third straight ring, rumours started circulating about Jordan having gambling problems. Some reports even claimed that he owed several people millions of dollars! The conspiracy theorists say that, in hopes of getting people to shut up and forget about their precious little star, they forced to Jordan to get the heck out of basketball and play baseball for a while.
Why Do Believe It?
Michael Jordan was a very competitive person; the idea of him being enticed by gambling seems reasonable…Also, although he wanted to honour his father, why leave in the middle of your prime? And why leave just after winning 3 straight championships? Couldn't he have done it near the end of his career? Oh and also, the NBA's pretty shady sometimes, so people like to blame them for a lot of stuff.
Believability Rating: 2.5/10 - I don't know, I'm not buying this one. Jordan leaving in the middle of his hey-day seems weird, but he says it was for his father and I'll take him for his word. In my opinion, kicking your best player out of the league seems a little extreme, right? Whatever happened, it's pretty depressing that Jordan had to leave and not give us more stuff like THIS:
3. The Bloody Sock…Was Actually Ketchup
The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees share one of the best rivalries in all of sports. They've met several times in the playoffs and there always seems to be drama surrounding their games. The drama meter was through the roof in Game Six of the American League Championship Series.
Curt Schilling, in a must-win game, came up HUGE with a great performance, winning the Sox the game (they would eventually win the World Series that year). Video showed that Schilling was actually playing injured in the game as you can see by the bloody sock. People have remembered this moment as if it was an epic legend. I mean, just look at this!
Really?! Did you have to put it on display? I'm still waiting for a "Bloody Sock Award" for gutsy playoff performances.
The Conspiracy: The theorists say that Schilling just "embellished" the injury and put some ketchup in his sock to make it look like he was playing through pain.
Why Do People Believe It?
Schilling is known to be a bit of a loud mouth and an attention seeker. Schilling put the blood on his sock to give an excuse in case he pitched like shit. Also, his catcher came out later on and said that the sock didn't have any blood on it.
Believability Rating: 3.5/10 - Meh. Schilling is a bit of a drama queen so I wouldn't put it past him. But luring ketchup into your sock? Maybe it's just me, but that sounds disgusting…and tasty…
2. The 2013 Super Bowl Blackout
This one was actually pretty recent! This year's Super Bowl featured the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers (weird name, right?). The matchup itself was very entertaining…but of course, controversy came up. And this time, it's Beyonce's fault!
Stupid Beyonce…the only good thing you've ever done is "Single Ladies" (please go sing and dance to that song if you haven't done so already. Don't worry, I'll wait).
The Conspiracy: The Ravens were crushing the 49ers when half time came along. After Beyonce's epic performance at halftime, a blackout ensued (apparently die to all of the flashy lights that Beyonce needed to distract everybody from her horrible…*cough*...I mean amazing singing). The theorists say that the NFL intentionally pulled the plugs on the light to lengthen half time (in hopes of killing Baltimore's momentum).
Why Do People Believe It?
The game was getting out of hand and the NFL wants every viewer to watch the full game and be interested in it throughout (for money of course). If the NFL did do the blackout by purpose, their plan would have worked as the 49ers DID come back and make it a very interesting game right down to the last minute (final score was 34-31).
Believability Rating: 6.5/10 - This one's tough. The NFL has had its fair share of controversy, so they may want to avoid doing thins like this…but the stage was set and they had Beyonce to blame…I say this one's not too crazy.
1. Manti Te'O Makes Up Fake Girlfriend To Win the Heisman Trophy
Okay, this is possibly one of the weirdest stories I have ever come across. And here's the thing: most of it is true and has been admitted by Te'O. Get ready for this one…
It starts with a college player, Manti Te'O. With the NFL draft coming up, he is looking to have a pretty good selection as he has enjoyed a very nice season in college. What makes his story even more compelling though, is the "tragedy" in his life. Before the championship game, word bore out that Manti's long time girlfriend had suddenly passed away. Despite this, he fights through the emotional pain, plays an amazing game, and wins the championship! Oh, the tears are running down my face as I type this! Somebody just give this man the Heisam trophy already!
Except, it was all a freaking hoax. His "girlfriend" never even existed! This entire Facebook account with pictures and fake messages between Te'O and the girl were all made up. After the death, when the media tried to find the girl's family, they couldn't. There was no record of her existence and no word or organization of a funeral for her alleged death.
The Conspiracy: The claim is that Te'O never knew this was a hoax. He thought that someone was playing a prank on him. Conspiracy theorists have claimed that he and his friends were in on it and that the whole plan was made by them to create a heart wrenching story to bolster Te'O's fame and his chance at the Heisman.
Believability Rating: 9.999999999/10 - C'mon…this guy is claiming that he and his girlfriend were "dating" for months…and he never bothered to ask, "hey, by the way, do you actually exist?" The very least he could have done was meet her in person, no? The whole thing seems fishy and I think I'll side with the conspiracy theorists on this one. I guess those guys aren't crazy all of the time.
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