Ref Chosen For AFC Championship Game Adds Fuel To The Taylor Swift - Chiefs Super Bowl Conspiracy Theories

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Anyone who subscribes to the idea that the NFL is scripted is fully expecting the Kansas City Chiefs to win the AFC Championship game over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. The Chiefs - with Taylor Swift cheering them on from a suite surrounded by Travis Kelce's family - playing in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas is undoubtedly the NFL's most desired outcome. That's not a conspiracy theory, that's just a fact.

That's not to say there aren't conspiracy theories involving the Chiefs advancing to the Super Bowl, there are aplenty, and the latest involves the ref assigned by the league to officiate the AFC title game.

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The Taylor Swift, Chiefs conspiracy theories are alive and well thanks to the ref assigned for the AFC Championship game. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Shawn Smith was given the assignment for the game earlier this week. This immediately sounded an alarm for NFL analyst Warren Sharp, given that Smith tends to favor teams on the road, which happens to be the Chiefs on Sunday. Sharp notes that the league did itself no favors in terms of conspiracy theory talk by assigning Smith to the officiating crew in Baltimore.

“And it certainly doesn’t help with conspiracy theories that the NFL would like nothing more than to see new Chiefs #1 fan Taylor Swift and her legendary fan base of the Swifties in the Super Bowl and buying up all the Super Bowl merchandise."

READ: FOOTBALL FANS TORCH TAYLOR SWIFT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The Ravens are a three-point favorite at most sportsbooks on Sunday, but that number may not be taking into effect Smith's history.

According to Sharp's data, for games with Smith on the field the home team's win rate drops from 55.9% to 40.8%. From a betting perspective, the home team goes from covering the spread 50.1% to just 37% of the time.

Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson will have more of an impact, hopefully, than the officials on Sunday, but it's hard to look at those numbers and not say they're significant, or at the very least, worth taking into account.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets, including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016, when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.