“Winning is Everything, it’s the ONLY thing.”
– Henry Russell (“Red”) Sanders, one time coach of the UCLA Bruin football team in the 1950s.
So the Patriots cheated again… though that’s not really surprising given their history since Belichick took over as head coach… what’s surprising is the New England fans discounting all the allegations as unimportant… so starved for validation that their shitty town is relevent, they ignore the obvious… every championship the Patriots have won in the last 15 years is tainted by the greasy stain of Belichick’s need to win at any cost. It doesn’t matter if they would have won anyway… what matters is fans will never believe it because they cheated… again.
The NFL is contemplating what punishment, if any, is warranted.
The thing is, the only real punishment that would hurt Belichick would be a year long suspension… For those unfamiliar with the history of the Patriots over the last 15 or so years, this isn’t the first time the Patriots have been on the wrong side of the rule book. A few years ago, the Patriots staff was video taping the opposing teams’ practice which is against the rules… Belichick was fined $500k (which barely registered since I think Belichick spends more than that on Hoodie’s and scissors to cut off the sleeves with) and the team was penalized further with the loss of a draft pick… or course, that loss was barely noticed (because they just traded for another one)… giving him a year long ban from ALL football operations would literally drive him crazy though, and I think that would be the best way to rid the NFL of one of the more notoriously unsportsmanlike head coaches in sports.
Yes, cheating has existed in all professional sports… but it is usually to give a team an edge they need… in the case of the Patriots, they’re cheating because they can, not because they need to… cheating for cheating’s sake if you will… It just boggles the mind to think about the lengths Belichick will go to stick it to the opposing team for no other reason than to stick it to the other team.
Lest you think my thoughts on the matter are clouded by my fanatical love of the San Diego Chargers, my issue with this whole debacle is that it isn’t JUST letting the air out of the balls… its a flagrant disregard for good sportsmanship… its a virulent belief that they are above the rules… heck, it isn’t as if letting the air out of the balls had even the slightest impact on the outcome… it IS though the simple fact that they cheat and relish in the cheating that chaps the hides of anyone who actually cares about sportsmanship.
Honestly, if there is any justice in the world, come next sunday when the Seahawks and Patriots take the field for the superbowl, it will be another lopsided victory for the seahawks. Cheater’s should never prosper after all… course, the world is an unfair place and maybe that’s why Belichick cheats.