No, the Super Bowl isn’t scripted

A phony Super Bowl LVII “script” is making the rounds on social media, showing an Eagles win with a score of 37-34. On Twitter, some users say a photo of the final score proves that the big game is pre-planned.

“Nahh someone leaked the Super Bowl script,” said a tweet from last Saturday that was viewed by millions. The text of the tweet was accompanied by a closely cropped and blurry photo of a score box. Other versions of the tweet alleging a scripted game have also been making the rounds.

Popular fact-checking platforms, like Snopes and PoliFact have shot down the tweet’s credibility. The original score box’s source isn’t clear, but PolitiFact was able to recreate it by taking code from a Pro Football Reference completed game scorebox and swapping in new details.

It appears the initial tweet may have been meant as sarcasm, continuing a discussion sparked last week on the Barstools Sports podcast “Macrodosing: Arian Foster and PFT Commenter.” The episode featured Foster, the former NFL running back joking about how the league was “rigged” and that he would receive “scripts” ahead of the season mapping out how things would unfold.

On Twitter, the joke took off, with athletes across the league joking about “the script.”

“Tell ‘em to up my pay next year, I executed the script perfectly,” wrote Colts safety Rodney McLeod. “I might show the script from playoffs!!” Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons tweeted.

Still, this is just the latest of a tale as old as time — or, well, as old as the NFL.

Especially when a questionable call by a ref is made or the team someone is rooting for loses, discussions about the NFL being rigged pop up online.

In 2015, the Deflategate scandal — which involved allegations that the New Englands Patriots used deliberately deflated footballs to help win against the Indianapolis Colts during their AFC championship game created huge controversy throughout the league.

Before that, a 2008 article from Bleacher Report discussed conspiracy theories that the coin toss might be done with a double-sided coin. Even earlier than that, a 1998 Washington Post article detailed rumors that NFL plays were controlled by Mafia leaders.

Still, despite all the swirling rumors, there’s yet to be proof that the NFL is a scripted event. We’ll go ahead and call this one debunked.