Coincidence? I Think Not: The Redemption Correlation

For those who have read any of my articles before, all two of them, breach yourself for a complete change of topic—football. Don't worry the highly anticipated cult article is still coming—yes, I am attempting to create my own hype.

I apologize for the shortness of this article. I have about 40 minutes before my class begins, multiple things to do, and wanted to get something posted before someone else came a long and stole my idea.

I love conspiracy theories, sometimes too much. In large part because they invoke my imagination with their complicated justifications to simple events. 

Tupac is dead. JFK was assassinated. The Knicks got the No. 1 draft pick in the year of Ewing.

Yet, those events become so much more interesting when we try to give reason to them that simply was just a correlation.

Tupac faked his death and is is living in the Bahamas waiting to a comeback.  JFK's assassination was called for my the mob.  David Stern made sure the Knicks got the No. 1 pick that year.  

Which event sounds more appealing to you: Tupac is dead or the one about Tupac faking his death?

Try to remember high school statistics.  Correlations does not mean causation.

Tupac talked about his death in his album, he died exactly that way—correlation not causation—his album did not kill him.  JFK was assassinated, JFK was rumored to have ties with the mob, again, correlation not causation.  The Knicks had the No. 1 draft pick, Stern was the NBA commissioner at the time, once again correlation not causation. 

Why is this relevant?  

(Progress note: four minutes until class begins, battery running low, mission impossible?)

Braylon Edwards got traded to the New York Jets today. 

Or Braylon Edwards got traded to the New York Jets today hours after the Michael Crabtree reportedly finally signed with the San Francisco 49ers eliminating hopes of Crabtree being a Jet?

Of course, the first article is the one that ESPN has up, no one in their right mind will admit the second. 

Over the next few hours, maybe days, we will read non-conspiracy articles containing how happy the Jets are to get Braylon, how they have been looking at him for awhile, and how they have finally obtained their No. 1 receiver.  

Where the conspiracists read the same thing, but as: How happy they are to have gotten their fourth option behind Deion Branch, Brandon Marshall, and Michael Crabtree, how they have been looking at him since Sunday when Deion Sanders said on national television that Crabtree may be signing soon, and how they finally have their No. 1 prima dona receiver who really is just a glorified No. 2.

(Progress note two: Class has begun, forget it. I am taking notes on my laptop today so I can give you the article—battery dying fast.)

Correlation does not mean causation. Fine. Just because Michael Crabtree signed with the 49ers early this morning, and the Jets (who were being investigated for tampering with Crabtree) acquired Edwards this morning, does not mean one caused the other. Rather it is just a correlation.

Is it merely a coincidence?

Coincidence is defined as: a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent casual connection. 

(Progress note three: I am sitting in the first row of lecture. Thankfully, we have a guest speaker who has spent most of his talk on the other side of the classroom—screen brightness on lowest level to save battery life.)

It is easy to see this this morning events go way beyond a coincidence.  Yet, the event can not just be called a "correlation" it doesn't do justification to sports fans who thrive on arguing ways how their team got screwed over.

Rather it should be referred to as the "Redemption Correlation," while their may not have been a proven causation, sports has the ability to make sure these unfair events are in essence equalized.

Ewing never won a championship. 

Be on the look out for the cult article, merely days away.

(Progress note four: 20 minutes of class, eight minutes of battery life, time to edit.)

(Progress note five: battery died, had to wait to plug in to post.)