Thanks to an insightful comment on my recent post titled “Immaculate Deception?” I am now providing a follow-up that puts the final nail in the coffin. The question mark in the title can officially be removed—the deception is undeniable. The evidence speaks for itself.
Patricia Rooney Mara is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a British Academy Film Award. Born into the Rooney (known for it’s connection to sports, owning the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL) and Mara (known for owning the New York Giants of the NFL) families.
The YouTuber “Jake the Asshole” has been exposing the NFL’s charades on a weekly basis, but this revelation is a stark reminder that such manipulation is not a new phenomenon. This isn’t just a modern scandal—it’s a decades-long operation designed to play with our perceptions and emotions. They’ve been orchestrating these moments for our entire lives. At least Hollywood doesn’t try to convince us their productions are real.
While I hesitate to make blanket statements, I am now firmly convinced that nearly every iconic sports play from the past five decades could be exposed as fake, phony, and scripted, given enough scrutiny and effort. The more you dig, the more the illusion crumbles.
Having been ten years old and living in Pittsburgh at the time of the so-called Immaculate Reception, I can attest to the almost religious fervor surrounding it. The event wasn’t just a football play; it became a cultural symbol, revered more highly than many major religious institutions. And that’s exactly the point—it was designed to be. The religious allusions, the larger-than-life storytelling—it’s all part of the script.
Of course, my claims are nothing short of heretical, particularly for those who hold such moments close to their hearts. In Pittsburgh, challenging the sanctity of the Immaculate Reception is akin to blasphemy. If I were still living there, I’d probably be tarred and feathered for even suggesting such an idea. But thankfully, I left that geographical bubble—and its fanatical inhabitants—behind decades ago.
It’s time we take a closer look at these iconic plays and ask ourselves: Are we watching authentic sports or masterfully crafted theater? The truth might be uncomfortable, but it’s long overdue.
Here is the outstanding comment that inspired this follow-up post:
I’ve long been misled by the notion that a football’s unpredictable shape makes certain outcomes seem almost miraculous. Because it isn’t round, I always believed it unlikely that Jack Tatum could have intentionally deflected the ball into Franco Harris’s path with such precision. Even so, it’s an impressive feat—though perhaps not as improbable as I once thought.
The commenter URHVELE made an excellent point: Tatum could have—and arguably should have—knocked the ball straight down. This is a basic defensive principle, especially in such a high-stakes moment. His choice to go for John “Frenchy” Fuqua (number 33) instead raises significant questions. Why would Tatum risk a pass interference call by making contact with the intended receiver on the game’s final play? The risk seems unnecessary, particularly when a clean knockdown would have ended the game decisively.
An intriguing side note is the jersey numbers of the key players involved: (31) Tatum, (32) Harris, and (33) Fuqua. The numerical progression almost seems too coincidental, as if designed to add yet another layer of mystique to the play.
For me, though, the true smoking gun lies in the half-hearted attempt by defensive back Jimmy Warren to tackle Franco Harris during his run to the end zone. It’s an incredibly weak effort for a professional player in such a critical moment. As Jake the Asshole consistently highlights in his weekly exposés, so-called “professional” players often demonstrate baffling lapses in fundamentals, like failing to understand angles or consistently over-pursuing ball carriers. This isn’t just a one-off mistake—it’s part of a larger pattern that raises serious doubts about the authenticity of these games.
Warren had the angle, the position, and the time to make a meaningful play, yet his attempt was laughably inadequate (perhaps a Warren Commission is in order). For a defensive back who should be trained to excel in these exact scenarios, his failure seems less like an error and more like an intentional choice—or worse, part of a script.
The more I revisit this play, the harder it is to ignore the glaring inconsistencies. What was once a seemingly miraculous moment now feels more like a meticulously crafted illusion. It’s not just about one play—it’s about an entire narrative designed to enthrall and deceive.
There’s a video called “Ernst’s Angle” that has been likened to a Zapruder-style breakdown of this infamous play. However, I’m not even going to delve into it—I’m so done with this rabbit hole. For now, let’s stick to the short clip of the play.
At exactly 11 seconds into the video, you’ll notice something peculiar: Jimmy Warren is positioned on the 30-yard line with a clear opportunity to tackle Franco Harris. From that angle, Harris is “dead to rights.” Yet, instead of closing in by moving diagonally toward the viewer (as basic defensive instincts would dictate), Warren chooses to stay parallel to Harris’s path.
Now, let’s consider: is Harris truly so much faster than this “fleet-footed” defensive back that by the 20-yard line, Warren has already lost the race despite still holding the angle? It strains credibility. Adding to the intrigue, as Harris crosses the goal line, there’s someone in gold with a “3” on their back standing right next to Warren, whose jersey reads “20.” Two 3’s (33)—yet another odd coincidence that seems scripted for effect. In fact, stop it at :14 and see (33) (22)…(322…Skull and Bones?)
But the play itself isn’t the only suspect part of this story. Let’s not forget Terry Bradshaw and John Madden. Both were highly influential figures in the NFL’s golden era, and they were undoubtedly well-compensated for their roles in perpetuating this charade. Yet, I can’t help but wonder how they justified it to themselves—or if they even lost sleep over it.
Admittedly, from a fan’s perspective, it’s hard to argue that I didn’t enjoy the ride. Watching the Steelers dominate and win four Super Bowls in such a short time frame was thrilling. Pittsburgh became “The City of Champions”—and I reveled in the excitement and pride that came with it. In that sense, it delivered exactly what it was supposed to: entertainment.
But what stings most is the deceptive nature of it all. Wrestling was ridiculed and openly dismissed as fake, yet that narrative was used to legitimize the rest of professional sports as “real.” In hindsight, it feels like a Milli Vanilli moment on a massive scale—a carefully constructed illusion meant to manipulate the audience.
What’s most disheartening is the realization that sports, in their purest form, don’t need embellishment. Genuine competition and athleticism should be captivating on their own. Yet, for decades (or millennia), we’ve been sold a scripted, theatrical version of reality under the guise of authenticity. It’s not just disappointing; it’s deflating. And speaking of deflating, it’s hard not to chuckle bitterly at the Deflategate scandal. In the end, I’m left feeling hollow, like a deflated pigskin in New England—assuming, of course, that ever really happened. If nothing else, this saga has been a wake-up call, not just about the play itself but about the entire foundation of professional sports.
For those still clinging to their illusions, you may want to consider unloading those collectible sports cards while their value is still artificially inflated. Because from where I’m standing, it seems the house of cards is beginning to crumble.
Piece of Mindful 
A newly found coaches video.. that might be AI. How is that credible evidence of anything. Maybe the op here is that “they” want to tear down football as an institution, and you’re playing into it. It’s beyond me to sort out the details you give, I’ve never been into sports/ football. But just as a casual observer it’s been clear for years now that football has been in the crosshairs for cultural revision or phase out, like many other customs and institutions, at least in the medium to long term.
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I grew up in an era where baseball was the national pastime, degraded to regional sport save the big guns, Dodgers, Yankees, Cubs, and lately Astros. The structure of the game itself is corrupt, as there is only minimal revenue sharing (luxury tax), where football is built on that. (Would there be a Packers team without it?) The Dodgers can spend a billion on free agents while other teams cough to scape up a few million.
I’ve long lost interest in baseball, and football took its place. Once upon a time I wore an orange shirt to the grocery store on a Sunday, only to realize it was game day and the entire store was filled with them. I shortly after gave that shirt to the local resource center. Now I follow the Broncos in a fair weather fashion, but I do follow them.
I’ve watched Jake the Asshole and laughed at weak tackles and bad angles, but I have to say I’ve seen enough truly athletic plays to be skeptical that the entire season is rigged. Just the important games, as the Broncos 38 (=11) victory over the Chiefs’ scrubs. I think there is entertainment value in regular season games, though one team is always the haloed child, as with the Patriots 911 forward, and now the Chiefs and Taylor Swift.
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It’s surprising to me that baseball still thrives in an age of shrinking attention spans. It feels like the sport’s survival now depends on the promotion of legal gambling to stay relevant. Just my take.
This will probably be my final post about sports. I think I’ve finally worked through the lingering frustration from how my younger, more naive self was duped. Thanks Mark for allowing me to vent on your platform.
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I remember Al Gore dancing on a stage in white guy fashion to “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow,” and thought it odd how he is able to caricature and insult an entire race in one movement. But it stands, Kevin. Keep on churning, and don’t stop thinking about new subjects. It has been fun.
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My comment is too idiotic to bother addressing? Okay lol. Glad you’ve got things all figured out, now
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I meant no offense, I simply don’t know hot to reply. It seems too profitable to phase out and way too many “adults” think it’s real. The NFL has kind of admitted that it’s “entertainment” but people seem to need a Santa Claus no matter what age they are. Makes no difference to me what they do with any of their “customs and institutions” unless it affects my personal life. I will deal with that when the time comes, but I will never shed a sentimental tear over the loss of any of their constructs.
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Tim you always make perceptive comments. However I agree with Ken I don’t see a phase out on the horizon. Maybe if they could sell Football (aka Soccer) to the American masses then they would change the paradigm.
The way I see sports is first gambling profits, second profits by sucking off the public teat (government subsidies), third time wasting (probably the most important aspect), and fourth an arbitrary division of the populace into oppositional teams. I remember reading Will Durants History of Civilization series and he talks about how in Rome there would be occasional riots of mass fisticuffs of the “reds” vs. “blues” chariot racing teams, which were named for colors like modern baseball teams – Red Sox, White Sox etc. Bread and Circuses forever.
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“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
“History repeats itself.”
“When in Rome…”
“It’s not what you know…”
“Nothing new under the sun.”
Bread and circuses—forever. Agreed. But here’s the real question: how do we break free? That’s the question we should be asking, and the solution we should be seeking. Don’t you think?
Today, I saw a billboard proclaiming, “Jesus is the only way to know God.” It struck me how that turns God into a Not-See: “I’d love to help you, but first—show me your papers. Got to ensure you’re not one of them.”
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Way back before Covid, when I still read Cincinnati Reds blogs, they printed a market analysis of franchise values wherein the Reds at that time were worth $2 billion, and you are right, the prospect of legalized gambling had more than a little to do with it. But I cannot help but think that if they were to take that team and put it in, say, San Antonio, creating a triangular Texas rivalry, its market value would increase far beyond that.
The Reds have their feet solidly grounded in United Fruit, now called Chiquita Banana, the owner groups over time from that power center. I wonder that they might be relegated to being a small market lackluster franchise by dictate. Their last World Series appearance was 1990, so that 2025 will be their 35th year of drought, Francona aside. I thought maybe two years ago they had a shot, it being year 33 of the drought, but not.
There’s more going on than I can comprehend, but to play as they have in a Bengal town in front of empty seats year in and out, only exacerbated by Covid, tells me they serve some purpose other than punching bag, though I don’t know what it is. Kansas City serves a similar function, while Milwaukee churns out quality teams year in and out.
Beyond me.
PS: when Clinton was canoodling with Monica on the floor of the Oval Office (an event Mathis says was fake and to me appeared more like a ritualistic shaming, ala Weinstein, his phone rang, someone who had that number. It was the then head of the ownership group of the Reds. I am still scratching my head.
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Mark, in Thailand I noticed the popularity of the Euro men, particularly the English, in wearing football jerseys in public. I agree it’s not something that looks good on a grown man, especially the 50-80 years olds. They look like such sad little fanboys. Makes me glad I stopped caring about professional sports, not that I would ever wear a team jersey anyhow.
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I’m back from my month vacation in SE Asia, aka T-land. This is the only site I went to for “news” lol.
You guys have been doing great work, especially Ken and Mark with the posts. I believe we all think somewhat alike: I was going to warn Ken that he might be getting death threats in Pittsburg by challenging the I. Reception, or I. Deception.
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Hahaha…remember that Charlie Daniel’s song, “Just go and lay your hand on a Pittsburgh Steeler fan and I think you’re gonna finally understand.” Guess I’ll need to fake my death.
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On this LA fire.. I heard a local talkshow guy say insurance companies had backed out of the area, because the state wasn’t taking proper measures – is that true? And there’s even a storyline about how Trump had offered them some kind of assistance with water/ fire prevention, but they turned it down “bc Trump”.. and said it was unscientific or bad somehow. Anyway it starts to sound like it’s similar to Maui, a planned land clearing, prime real estate that maybe has some wrong people on it, and/or needs to be redesigned on different lines
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Yes super suspicious. There seems to be a trend where a place gets “hot”, i.e. a great place to live with enormous natural resources and jobs, and is then hit with multiple “natural”, “man-made”, and so-called “economic” disasters. E.g. Argentina, Venezuela, and now California. The former were two of the richest countries per capita in the world early and late 20th century, respectively, and were then razed to the ground by “politics”. Brazil is another one – an incredibly resource rich country that is under hyper inflation and that is a complete catastrophe, according to the local Brazilians I talk to often who work in the coffee shops and Uber.
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I think you’re spot on. Brings to mind the book Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein (or Woolf..) – she covers those countries as case studies, although I didn’t finish it, though I should. It looks like the disaster capitalism has come home to the US, that may have been her thesis.. the same playbook.
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K. Starr – My bad, I was just feeling peevish. I moreso meant how you might address using a suspect video as part of your evidence, but it’s not really my topic to get into so I’m not trying to belabor it or in great need of discussing it.
I see your and Ray’s points that football is in no immediate threat of the chopping block. I just see it as always under low grade attack on some kind of culture front, sort of like the beef industry. Various ops or possible ops, the head injuries scaring mothers away from it and towards soccer for their sons maybe. The intro of politics into the coverage, so that many red state viewers swear off watching it, or at least the NFL. I’m not that close an observer though.
Its social engineering origins have been explored, it was promoted by Teddy Roosevelt iirc with openly avowed social goals. Goals no longer in favor with PMC at least.
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The contemporary roots of organized professional sports go deep – I mentioned Rome before, but the current spate of modern sports dates to 17th century England. Specifically around the time of Charles II there was a concerted attack on the Puritans and Cromwells adherents via Sunday sports. The Puritans forbade games and such entertainments on Sundays, requiring the Sabbath be kept holy and the time spent attending services. However, the powers that be in England at the time wanted to erode the Puritan influence, so created multiple sports and “diversions” for Sunday entertainment: Tennis, Cricket, Rugby, Football, Croquet and other games that were widely promoted for attendance on Sundays to the consternation of the Church.
What’s most interesting is these core games are still with us today as the most popular forms of mass entertainment, and moreover have almost literally taken over the world, especially adult men’s eyeballs, time, and money: Football (Soccer), Rugby (American Football and Australian forms also), and Cricket (watched by massive numbers of Indians, Pakistanis, Australians, plus American baseball), and golf.
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Also note all these games are played on flat, grass, lawn like surfaces that are of course common in rainy flat England. Making them relatively simple to export, requiring just a small flat area with grass to play.
For indoor distractions there is billiards (pool), dart, and card playing/card betting – all English inventions of games of mass appeal. No doubt similar pastimes were developed in other times and places, but the English clearly are outstanding at exporting and influencing the masses to achieve their ends.
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I have another rant about modern sports that to me makes them virtually unwatchable. Have others noticed in baseball, football, and soccer (English premier league) contests the post-score celebrations have become quite elaborate and ridiculous? It appears they spend a lot of time practicing dancing and mugging for the cameras. In other words entertaining the masses.
My point being this is further proof sports are not on the level, and are rehearsed, manufactured mass entertainment spectacles.
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But presently, are the distractions still needed? At the end of the day people want that cigarette, and their basic needs met. nobody is doing anything to prevent the elite from getting what they want or achieve their ends. There is no organized groups that are going to take the Country back and turn things around. At this point is all this entertainment, just to ease the motony of life and sell products we don’t need?
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Or are we living in some sort of metaphysical testing ground? The 3-D reality will never cease to offer us choices, it’s up to us to choose correctly (or what is correct for our desired life path). Just another theory, of course.
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Well-written. I’ve watched many of the same channels, such as “Jake The Asshole” and others. At the end, you finished with this: “If nothing else, this saga has been a wake-up call, not just about the play itself but about the entire foundation of professional sports.” Here’s a word from experience. The foundation of all the world’s institutional/mainstream deception (sports or non-sports) is something that channels like “Jake The Asshole” fear, refuse to speak about, and even mock at times to commenters under their videos. The foundation for all the world’s lies is satan. Yes, a supernatural spiritual entity that rules the world through a web of secret societies (of demon worshippers). They pull off all these deceptions with a little supernatural help. Or perhaps a lot of it. This all means that the Biblical God is real. So the ultimate truth channels are not channels like “Jake The Asshole” – in fact, he’s serving the same enemy the NFL is (by serving up distraction that never leads to Christ). I know a lot of truthers these days are conditioned to think the Bible is just another man-made book to control the masses – but this lie is easily debunked to any intellectually honest truth seeker.
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