During Monday Night Football’s broadcast of the Los Angeles Chargers’ overtime thriller against the Philadelphia Eagles, longtime ESPN play-by-play man Joe Buck delivered a line that sent NFL conspiracy theorists into overdrive - and it all started with a joke about Valentine’s Day.
As Buck and analyst Troy Aikman discussed the upcoming Super Bowl venues, Aikman playfully quipped, “You're going to be my date on Valentine's Day,” referring to Super Bowl LXI, which is set for February 14, 2027, on ESPN/ABC. Buck didn’t miss a beat, replying with a smirk: “It’s looking that way, yes… Have you seen the script?
Do you know who's going to play in that one yet? I saw it.
I’ll let you know later.”
It was a throwaway line - a sarcastic nod to one of the NFL’s most persistent and bizarre fan theories: that the league is scripted. But for a certain corner of the football world, Buck’s comment felt like kindling on a fire that never quite goes out.
The idea that the NFL pre-determines outcomes - from game results to penalty calls to Super Bowl matchups - has been floating around the internet for years. It’s mostly been treated as a tongue-in-cheek joke among fans, but it occasionally picks up traction, especially when a controversial call or uncanny coincidence pops up during a high-stakes game.
Buck’s comment, clearly made in jest, was followed by a brief moment of silence from Aikman before the Hall of Famer chuckled, seemingly caught off guard. That pause only added fuel to the fire for some viewers who were quick to run with it online.
Social media lit up with reactions ranging from amused to genuinely suspicious. Some fans joked that the league was “leaning into” the theory on purpose.
Others claimed Buck’s comment was a wink-and-nod acknowledgment of something deeper. “It’s the fact they’re alluding to a script,” one fan posted.
“People are waking up to it, and they’re leaning into it.”
The “NFL is scripted” theory has taken on a life of its own in recent years, especially around the Super Bowl. Fans began noticing that the color schemes of Super Bowl logos seemed to align with the teams that eventually played in the game. The theory gained traction during Super Bowls LVI and LVII, when the Rams and Bengals, then the Eagles and Chiefs, matched the color palettes of the logos.
But the streak broke in 2024, when the Baltimore Ravens - whose colors many fans believed were hinted at in that year’s logo - didn’t make it to the big game. Instead, Kansas City and San Francisco squared off, throwing a wrench into the theory. Still, that didn’t stop fans from reviving it again this past February, when Super Bowl LIX featured red and green in the logo - the same colors as the Chiefs and Eagles, who did in fact meet in New Orleans, with Philadelphia taking home the Lombardi Trophy.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has addressed the theory before, brushing it off with a mix of humor and seriousness. Speaking ahead of last season’s Super Bowl, Goodell said, “This reminds me a little bit of the script - that I write a script for the entire season, right?”
He acknowledged that while conspiracy theories often thrive on social media, they’re also a reflection of fan passion - and a reminder of how closely every aspect of the game, especially officiating, is scrutinized. “The men and women that officiate in the NFL are outstanding,” Goodell said. “They have the highest possible standards.”
He didn’t mince words when it came to the idea of a script: “That’s a ridiculous theory - for anyone who might take it seriously. But at the end of the day, it’s something we always have to continue to work on: How do we make our officiating better?”
So, was Joe Buck’s comment a subtle confirmation of a league-wide plot? Not likely. But in a league where every play, every call, and every logo gets dissected like a Zapruder film, even a light-hearted joke can become a headline.
And for fans who love the drama - scripted or not - it’s just another reason to keep watching.