Patriot Games.
The newest crazed attack on the New
England Patriots is really just another attack on the “One Percent,” those that
are successful enough to bring out the worst in those who aren’t. The “One
Percenters” are really a bit higher percentage of the population than that, but
those that are so consumed with envy like the term, so I’m not going to try to
take it from them.
The Colts, who were one of my
favorite teams in the league until recently, are really in cahoots with another
team or two and The League Itself to find a way to level the playing field, or,
at the least, make the vast majority of NFL fans and teams feel better about
themselves. It is always a great feeling to feel morally superior to others,
especially others who happen to be successful! That’s a win-win for the
allegedly aggrieved! It not only makes them
feel superior to others on the face of it, but also explains why they
haven’t attained the same level of success. Of course, they themselves would be
in the same position as their tormentors if they lowered themselves to
cheating! The Colts essentially said, it’s our ball (it’s properly
inflated…isn’t it!?), and if we can’t win, we’re going home. So there!
Nearly every team in every
professional sports league has done everything it could to find an advantage
somewhere, whether it is clearly cheating or just a gray area. Grounds crews in
most outdoor baseball parks cut the grass short if they had a speed team and
let the grass grow long if they had a power team. Teams such as the Atlanta
Falcons pumped artificial crowd noise into their stadiums at opportune times.
The Twins are solidly accused of turning the air-conditioning up when their
opponents were batting in the old Metrodome…and turning it off when the
hometown squad was at the plate. Teams routinely give their opponents the
colder, windier sideline, and the smaller locker rooms. Even in college, the
Iowa Hawkeyes painted their opponent’s locker room pink…in order to make them
feel less aggressive.
How many thugs, punks, wife and/or
child abusers, thieves, attempted rapists, and the like, will be playing in
their team’s first four games next season while Tom Brady isn’t allowed in the
stadium?
Does this not seem bizarre to
people?
Jameis Winston will be
playing…assuming he doesn’t get another urge for free top-end seafood… or
worse.
The evidence against Brady is
circumstantial at best. Even if “guilty,” we’re talking about slightly deflating a football…maybe 1 or
2 psi! This leads off the national newscasts of all three network
television stations?! Another earthquake in Nepal? North Korea launching
missiles towards South Korea? Those stories will have to wait! And they accuse
Fox News of having an agenda??!!
Many pitchers in baseball have
“doctored” the ball over the years. Gaylord Perry used to put petroleum jelly
on balls. Indian’s president Gabe Paul defended him by stating, “Gaylord is a very honorable man. He only calls for
the spitter when he needs it.” Phil Niekro, while with the Minnesota Twins,
famously used an emory board and
sand-paper to cut into the ball so that its flight was unpredictable. The
ball would dip and flutter and do odd things in the manner of a really great
knuckleball, yet was much easier to throw. This was actually dangerous to the batter, as well. (Unlike
softer, less inflated footballs). He was suspended for 10 games, went on the
Tonight Show wearing a tool-belt, and laughs were had all around!
Yet, I’ve heard local- and
national- talking heads gloat over Brady’s suspension, literally saying
things like, “Okay, Mr. Successful pretty-boy with the smug smile and the
gorgeous wife, how do you like maybe having to play by the rules?” Several
embarrassed themselves in a big way, on-air, their comments dripping with sheer
envy and hatred.
For his misbehavior, Niekro was
suspended for 6.2% of his team’s season. Brady is being suspended for 25% of
New England’s 2015 season.
As always, this is about the NFL
saving face and making money. They don’t want questions about the league’s clear and consistent rules
and regulations for the handling and checking of footballs prior to game-time.
Because there aren’t any.
They do want parity- and to appeal
to “the 99%.”
No matter how unfair it is.
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