[Wilton2ParkAve]

Pitchers scuff balls, batters and pitchers use pine tar; it's seen as a part of baseball. No one bats an eye when someone is tossed for it. Every team doctors their game balls in different ways; this is public knowledge. Rodgers bends the rules; he admitted this. Eli Manning's game balls are messed with for weeks.

Last year, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl with more players on their roster caught using performance enhancing drugs than any team in the history of the league. On the spectrum of "cheating", it simply doesn't get much worse than this. But did the media call it Steroid-Gate? Did they once use the word "cheaters" to refer to the Seahawks? Of course not.

Now let's look at what the Patriots are being accused of and why everyone has labeled them cheaters and undeserving of the Super Bowl: They might have let a tiny amount of air out of some footballs - an amount so small that even the refs couldn't notice when handling them. An advantage so negligible, that when the balls were taken out of play, the patriots actually performed better.

At worst, using slightly under-inflated balls without the refs noticing is akin to getting away with a pass interference call. Colt players themselves have admitted that the "Pats could have played with soap for balls and beat us. Simply the better team."

http://ftw.usatoday.com/…/colt...ategate…

[wtby4000]

Originally Posted by UKWildcat1981

Everyone in America needs to man up, this country is so PC and overly sensitive about anything these days you can't even make a joke even about women, any religion or race without some liberal crying over it. I hate the direction this country is going in, if a team loses the other fan base always cries about the other team cheating to win. I hate sports fans, most of them are idiots.

I agree. Those Colts fans are just a bunch of rabid liberals. In fact, Indiana is crawling with libs. It makes me sick. Patriots are real men, and their fans are true conservative New England puritan patriots.

[Mr_250]

I just like all the funny pictures coming from this. It lightens up the work day.

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

Pitchers scuff balls, batters and pitchers use pine tar; it's seen as a part of baseball. No one bats an eye when someone is tossed for it. Every team doctors their game balls in different ways; this is public knowledge. Rodgers bends the rules; he admitted this. Eli Manning's game balls are messed with for weeks.

Last year, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl with more players on their roster caught using performance enhancing drugs than any team in the history of the league. On the spectrum of "cheating", it simply doesn't get much worse than this. But did the media call it Steroid-Gate? Did they once use the word "cheaters" to refer to the Seahawks? Of course not.

Now let's look at what the Patriots are being accused of and why everyone has labeled them cheaters and undeserving of the Super Bowl: They might have let a tiny amount of air out of some footballs - an amount so small that even the refs couldn't notice when handling them. An advantage so negligible, that when the balls were taken out of play, the patriots actually performed better.

At worst, using slightly under-inflated balls without the refs noticing is akin to getting away with a pass interference call. Colt players themselves have admitted that the "Pats could have played with soap for balls and beat us. Simply the better team."

Colts TE on deflategate: ‘They could have played with soap for balls and beat us’ | For The Win

Pitchers who get caught doctoring the ball get ejected from the game and suspended. Batters who use corked bats are automatically suspended. It may be part of baseball, but if you get caught the punishment is swift and certain. If this were a baseball game, Brady would have been ejected once it was determined that the balls were under inflated. Instead, he got to play the rest of the game.

If those Seahawks players who tested positive for PEDs were not suspended, I would agree with you. But they were caught and punished per league rules. It didn't seem bother the Pats too much either, as they picked up one of those players in the off season (Brandon Browner). He sat out the first four games this season with the Pats for testing positive for PEDs.

The prepping of game balls is totally legal so not sure what it has to do with this. Indeed, since so much prep goes into making each ball just the way the QB wants it, I find it very had to believe that Brady did not notice that the balls were substantially under inflated. Unless, of course, he prefers them that way.

In terms of advantage, an under inflated ball is easier to grip and throw, especially in wet weather like on Sunday. It also gives the ball carrier a surer grip, which means its harder to dislodge or strip. Why else would they do it unless there was an advantage to be gained?

Did it affect the outcome of the game? No way. The Pats would have beat them with beach balls. But it clearly violates the rules, and the fact that all 12 Pats balls were outside the acceptable range (11 of them were more than 2 psi lower) and all the Colts balls were within spec shows that this was intentional, IMO.

The other thing at play here is that the Pats are repeat offenders. If this were the first offense, I doubt this gets much press. Maybe they get the benefit of the doubt. But since this is the second time, it makes you wonder what else are they doing to gain an advantage. It speaks to the integrity of the game. And it taints their legacy. They will never be considered among the great teams like the Steelers, Cowboys, Dolphins or 49ers. Its a shame really.

[wtby4000]

What happened is that the balls are typically slammed to the ground after each touchdown, with each such "celebration" causing the balls to become slightly deflated. Since the Pats scored more touchdowns than the Colt, the balls got deflated more. Thusly, more of the Pats balls had deflationary problems than the Indianapolis balls at end of the match.

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by wtby4000

What happened is that the balls are typically slammed to the ground after each touchdown, with each such "celebration" causing the balls to become slightly deflated.

Complete BS.

[wtby4000]

I can testify based on experience that cold weather causes balls to shrink.

[Cambium]

"And after the referees intervened, the Patriots balls were all at standard inflation in the second half. And all New England did in that half was trounce the Colts 28-0. While some pundits hyperventilated about New England sullying the great game of football with their dastardly shenanigans, even Colts players called it nonsense. Colts tight end Dwayne Allen put it exactly right, "They could have played with soap for balls and beat us."

Balls: Just what the country needed now

[dazzleman]

Originally Posted by wtby4000

I can testify based on experience that cold weather causes balls to shrink.

I saw a montage of Brady talking about "balls" in a way that sounded as if he was talking about his own balls.

[Cambium]

https://twitter.com/BR_NFL/status/597879825496420353