Super Bowl Showtime: LA EXPERIMENT COMPLETE

The Los Angeles Rams have won Super Bowl LVI.

And they had significant officiating help to do it, and it only needed one play -- as the NFL would want it.

Cincinnati came out hot, with a 75 yard touchdown pass to take the lead in the game.  Higgins, the receiver, however threw his defender out of the way with a BLATANT facemask.

This is what we call a SETUP.  Everything in this game, and you should've seen this in the first damn half if you were paying attention, was to set up something in the final two minutes to decide the contest.

The teams then traded field goals after a Ram interception for 20-16, and then the game became a defensive stalemate.  Both quarterbacks were at least slightly injured, as Burrow was sacked 7 times, tying the Super Bowl record.  Stafford also got dinged up as the defenses took hold.

Rams got the ball back with six minutes to go and, needing a touchdown, got it to the Cincinnati 7 with the two-minute warning.

It took eight plays and four penalties to get the Rams into the end zone.

1. Open in the end zone, overthrown.
2. 2nd open in the end zone
3. The key play of all of this...

3rd and goal from the Rams 7, and Stafford goes back and throws a crossing route to Cooper Kupp -- who is "held" (that's what the flag said), but the replay showed that if the Cincinnati defender got his arm around to Kupp's stomach, it impeded NOTHING, and part of the criteria for holding (on either side of the ball) is being impeded.

So the ball goes to about the 4.

Except the play should've been blown dead for a false start of multiple Rams' linemen on the play:

The defensive holding penalty against Cincinnati never should have happened anyway because the officials didn’t call an obvious false start on the entire offensive line. pic.twitter.com/U1itLG7RPA

— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) February 14, 2022

4) Stafford finds Kupp for a short touchdown, mouths start flapping, and two flags hit the field.  One each way:  Kupp was sprung by an offensive hold in the Rams line, and, after the play, one of several chippinesses ends with a personal foul on the defense.  Replay the down.

5) Kupp is then completely mugged without pretense -- the popcorn vendor outside the stadium could've called that one.

6) QB sneak

7) Short pass to Kupp for the game-winner, another Cliffhanger win at 1:25 -- meaning every game past the Wild Card Round was a Cliffhanger.

• SF-GB:  Field goal at the gun to win.
• LAR-TB:  Field goal at the gun to win, after a Brady TD with 42 seconds left tied it.
• LAR-SF:  Field goal 1:46 left to win it.
• CIN-TEN:  Field goal at the gun to win.
• KC-BUF:  Field goal at the gun to tie, after BUF got a TD to go up 3 13 seconds to go.  AFTER KC got a TD to go up 4 with 1:02 to go.  AFTER BUF got a TD to go up 3 1:54 to go.  Oh, and KC drove the first drive for the winning TD in overtime.
• CIN-KC:  KC FG at the gun to tie.  Turnover in OT for KC.  CIN drives to win with a FG.
• SB LVI:  Winning TD at 1:25, chance thwarted.

And it had a Last Chance Miss too, as the obvious overtime meme is subverted because the Cincinnati offensive line can't pass-block water and a fourth down with 39 seconds and a timeout fails at midfield!!

In fact, the NFL's Next Generation Stats have that the Cincinnati Bengals, in this game, had the worst pass-blocking of any offensive line of any game in this season or playoffs.

So basically you have the refs making the one key call after the game was manipulated to get there, and then this offensive line.

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So "FUCK E STAN KROENKE!" has his Super Bowl, the LA Experiment is now complete.

NBC spared no expense, neither in the game coverage nor the commercials, to set up the New Showtime -- this year's commercials were HIGHLY celebrity-centric, as was the people-watching in the crowd at SoFi Stadium!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your next superteam if the Brady retirement holds.  New team, flashy stadium, all the celebrities you can supply...

Reminds me of the 80's Lakers, but with a side plate of the 90's Bulls officiating thrown in!!  Magic and Kareem and the like didn't need this fucking refball to make Arsenio and the celebs happy!

The new odds have the Chiefs and Bills as the top two choices for 2022-23.  First off, I don't think this is going to be the same country come September, but that's far beyond the purview of SportsBall.

Second??   After what I saw today, I'm beginning to think we are looking at The New Showtime.  Celebs in front, plebs in the back, and the best chance for a dynasty in their sport (because Fuck Rob Manfred!)