I promised myself I wouldn’t respond or react to this because it’s so over and done with (or was anyway). As a Patriots fan I am appalled that they can never get the credit they deserve after winning a Super Bowl. Were they the best team in the NFL? No, the narrative went because the Seahawks made the worst play call in NFL history and gave the game away. Oh, so Malcolm Butler didn’t just make a great play on the ball and seal the win? Oh, OK.
How quickly we flip the script from “Brady loses another Super Bowl. Is he really that good?” To “Patriots win on controversial call.” Sorry, but a controversial call actually implies a flag should/shouldn’t have been thrown or a bad look at a sideline catch or fumble review. Not a coaching decision.
Back to deflate gate. I honestly think it’s so stupid that I won’t even really get into details other than that I find it oddly ironic that the media used it for Super Bowl week and was then done talking about it and on to talking about the play call and Brady’s legacy for as long as people were willing to listen. And now that the draft is over and the NHL and NBA playoffs are in full swing they bring this back in our faces? While absolutely no one is talking about the NFL? Yeah, that’s clearly just a coincidence.
Although I’ve driveled on a little my main thought at this point is whether anyone would care if this were another quarterback. Even a very good one like Aaron Rodgers. Would I care? I’m not sure and even trying to counteract my Patriots bias I feel like I actually wouldn’t care. Because I know it has no effect on the game or the ability of the quarterback to throw the ball. The Falcons caused a stir for a little when they were disciplined for pumping crowd noise into their stadium. It was talking fodder for maybe a week, even two would be stretching it.
But no, even for his Super Bowl ring and stature as one of the best quarterbacks in the league, Aaron Rodgers is nowhere near Brady’s level of hatred. Why? It’s hard to say but you could argue the success story angle with Brady being the sixth round pick that no one wanted to becoming possibly the greatest quarterback ever.
Enough about that. What I love the most is that the Patriots gained a “competitive advantage” against the Colts by using under inflated footballs. Brady liked them that way because they’re easier to grip. So what did they do? They proceeded to run the ball the entire game with Legarette Blount.
What’s even funnier about the media is that, had the Patriots lost to the Seahawks in the Super Bowl it would’ve been because the Patriots weren’t using their specialty under-inflated footballs! They’ve been figured out! Not that the Seahawks were the better team. Which would’ve been the only scenario in which I could’ve pitied the Seahawks. But eventually people would’ve forgotten about it and the Seahawks would be given their credit.
But with the Patriots people don’t seem to forget. Sports writers and media personalities are already talking about how this will be the ‘black mark’ on their legacy. Why? Do you really think they wouldn’t have won all of those games? That they’ve been doing this the entire Belichick/Brady era? Everyone’s entitled to their opinion and I’m still entitled to mine: the Patriots are the greatest team of our era and Brady its greatest quarterback; it’s time to face facts.
Update: Colin Kaepernick doesn’t care. Steve Smith also doesn’t care, and he cares a lot about a lot of things.
Update update: Brady has been suspended for 4 games, 2 games for each PSI taken out? And twice the amount of time Goodell felt appropriate for Ray Rice knocking his girlfriend unconscious on tape.