Are you really trying to win if you aren’t cheating?
That’s what my old P.E. teacher used to say, and I’ve always remembered that. Is it the best thought to be instilling in the future generation? No, it’s not. But is it true out in the real world? Unfortunately yes, it is.
One NFL team that has had its fair share of scandalous moments is the New England Patriots. They’ve had just as many (insert scandal name)-gates as they’ve had Super Bowl wins. Well, they’ve actually probably had more Super Bowls…
In 2007, head coach Bill Belichick had to answer some questions from the media after it was discovered that personnel from the Patriots were recording opposing team’s sidelines in order to get their signals. That was coined “Spygate.”
In 2015, another more serious scandal rocked the NFL when news got out that Tom Brady requested footballs be deflated during the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. Brady was suspended for four games as a result, and that one was coined “Deflategate.”
Fast forward to 2023, and we’ve got the possibility of a “Deflategate 2.0” after footballs were reported to be under-inflated during a matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the…you guessed it, New England Patriots.
However, in a shocking turn of events, it wasn’t the Patriots (for once) that were in the wrong in this situation. Instead, the Chiefs were suspected of deflating the footballs solely used for kicking, and as MassLive reported, the Patriots called them out on it:
“According to multiple sources, the footballs that are meant for each team’s kicking units were under-inflated by two pounds.
After team complaints, officials took the ‘K-Balls’ into the locker room at halftime where they were discovered to weigh 11 pounds per square inch instead of the legal limit of 13.5, per sources.”
Once they were weighed and found to be below the league inflation standard, they were fixed during the halftime break, and the second half was played with properly inflated footballs.
With the balls regularly being checked before games begin, many have started to speculate about potential tampering by the Kansas City Chiefs. More will certainly be revealed as the NFL investigates, but hey, like I said earlier, are you really trying to win if you aren’t cheating a little bit?
At least it wasn’t the Patriots this time around…
