They’re at it again. Those dirty Patriots allegedly took some air out of the footballs in their AFC title game romp over the Indianapolis Colts. Sorry, I can’t get worked up even a little bit over this and here’s why.
In case you haven’t noticed, while the NFL business model is far and away the most sophisticated in sports history, the stuff on the field is strictly garage league level and always has been. They have part-time officials who are absolutely laughable at times. They’ve still got this inane tuck rule where a fumble isn’t a fumble even though everyone that sees the play knows it’s a fumble. They’ve got this process deal on catches where it’s not a catch even though it actually is a catch. I could list a handful more bizarre regulations, but I’ll figure you’ve gotten my point already. Beyond that, someone is cheating or at least trying to in some fashion on virtually every single play.
So now comes The Case of the Deflated Footballs. Apparently less air in the ball makes it easier to grip and throw. I guess that makes sense. And it looks as though the Patriots might have gotten caught in their latest insidious plot to steal wins away from the opposition. Shame on them.
No actually, shame on the NFL. Let me get this straight. The footballs are inspected by the league a couple hours before the game and then returned to the teams. Is that right? Who came up this brilliant idea, Gaylord Perry?
This whole thing is nuts. First of all, the officials should be in possession and control of the football at all times. Anything else is absurd. Can you imagine this taking place in baseball? Umps inspect the baseballs before the game and then give them to the teams. I can only imagine what kind of condition those baseballs would be in by the time the game got started.
Here’s another goofy NFL “rule” as it pertains to the footballs. They use different balls for kicking. Huh? That’s ridiculous. Sorry, this should be one ball fits all. I don’t see the NBA handing the player who just got fouled a different ball when he goes to shoot his free throws.
In any event, this is all mountain out of molehill stuff to me. I know some of you are all bent out of shape, and I can understand that opinion, sort of. But the view from here is a shoulder shrug. I’ve seen teams get jobbed out of wins with way worse, courtesy of some stuck on stupid rule that somehow justifies it. And since I’m not expecting that to change anytime soon, I’m just not going to give a hoot about this.
Do you blame the NFL too?
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