Was The Super Bowl Rigged? Conspiracy Theorists Cite Onion-Like Article As Proof 2014 Game Was Fixed

Sunday night’s lopsided 43-8 result in Super Bowl XLVIII between the victorious Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos has brought out conspiracy theorists who believe the game is rigged.

Others who may not have believed that Super Bowl XLVIII was fixed or rigged may have had their minds changed by Huzlers, a website with an Onion-like penchant for satire. Huzlers recently posted a “breaking” story with the headline “Super Bowl XLVIII Believed to Have Been Rigged and Currently Under Investigation by NFL.”

The story claimed NFL officials “just found clues that might prove the game was rigged. Officials believe the Broncos intentionally lost the championship in exchange for a large amount of money.” The fake report goes on to say that Super Bowl referee Terry McAulay overheard Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning asking Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, “When are you going to pay up?”

But there is no actual evidence that the game was fixed or rigged. If you scroll further down in the article, Huzlers identifies itself as “a combination of real shocking news and satire news to keep its visitors in a state of disbelief.”

The Super Bowl-is-rigged story falls into the satire category. There are no other reports suggesting that Super Bowl XLVIII, the first time the big game was played outdoors in a cold-weather city, was fixed.

But conspiracy theorists were out in full force trying to prove that the 2014 Super Bowl was staged. Yahoo user Favre suggested the game was rigged in the early goings of Super Bowl XLVIII.

“So the score is 15-0.. I guarantee all the NFL is doing is sitting up a Peyton 4th quarter comeback to make him look good. Its [sic] fake. guarantee you they let that bum peyton win,” Favre wrote.

But Favre’s prediction did not play out, as the hapless Broncos only managed to score 8 points in the third quarter. Seattle dominated throughout the game and finished off the Broncos 43-8.

Among the answers Favre received to his question was from Yahoo user Brad V, who reiterated the Huzlers report.

The NFL is currently investigating a rigged superbowl [sic], because one of the officials overheard peyton manning asking the seattle head coach, ‘When are you guys gonna pay up?’ it's a shame, Even if these allegations are untrue, Peyton's career is over, and he will never be a hall of fame inductee, as he should be,” the user replied.

Others were far less skeptical that the game was rigged.

“You conspiracy theorists are really getting annoying,” opined Yahoo user Minnesota Matt. “The Superbowl [sic] is not rigged, you are all just crazy.”