clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Terrell Suggs believes Roger Goodell might have played part in Super Bowl blackout

You know what? This theory might not be as crazy as you think.

Terrell Suggs thinks Roger Goodell could have had something to do with the Super Bowl blackout last February.
Terrell Suggs thinks Roger Goodell could have had something to do with the Super Bowl blackout last February.
Donald Miralle

Here was my initial thought after reading the transcript of what Terrell Suggs told ESPN in an interview that will air Tuesday night on E:60, in which the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year states that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell probably had a role in the Super Bowl XLVII blackout occurring:

"This is the dumbest accusation I've ever heard, ever." This was the same reaction I had when Ray Lewis alluded to this a while back as well.

Why would Goodell want this? How does it look for the NFL when a 32-minute power outage keeps the final two teams remaining from playing the biggest game on the biggest stage? And how does one know for sure that the San Francisco 49ers wouldn't have come back without the power outage taking place?

"I was like Vegas, parlor tricks, you know what I mean?" Suggs says in the interview. "I was like, ahh, Roger Goodell, he never stops, he always has something up his sleeve. He just couldn’t let us have this one in a landslide huh?"

It sounds ridiculous. Really ridiculous.

That is, until you check out this quote Deadspin obtained Monday. The website's Josh Koblin was at a Hearst Corporation event where Goodell spoke to a bunch of employees.

"People tell me, Who you rooting for for the game?" Goodell said. "That's another favorite question besides, What's your favorite? We root for the team that's losing. Cause what we're interested in is close games. So whenever I go to a game, whoever's losing, you can count on the commissioner. It doesn't make any difference, by the way. I don't have that kind of authority."

Hmm.

OK, so my original assertion that this is the dumbest accusation ever no longer applies. I'll stick with the fact it's still unlikely.

Did Goodell personally have a stake in the blackout occurring? I still don't think so. Can I officially not put it past Goodell to do something like that? No, I really can't. If the NFL's boss readily admits to rooting for any game's losing team, anything applies at this point.

Maybe I just like to assume that the freaking commissioner of a giant sports league wouldn't stoop that low. Plus, I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist to begin with. Then again, a motive is now readily available for something as absurd as creating a power outage in America's most important sports event.

Given the weight of what Suggs is implying (and the fact he also believes that Goodell should not make a $10 million salary), the E:60 interview, with ESPN's Lisa Salters, will be a must-watch Tuesday night.

The show will air at 7 p.m. on ESPN.