Deflategate has now progressed to the "please make it go away" point of its news cycle. Hysterical hot takes like this and this have crossed over into the realm of unintentional comedy. People who did not watch the game (or any other game this season, for that matter) now believe that they are qualified to comment on events that did not affect their lives in any meaningful way.
Allow me to preface my remarks by saying that I am a dyed in the wool Buffalo Bills fan. I laughed heartily after the Helmet Catch and believe that Eli Manning besting Tom Brady in two different Super Bowls is one of the best jokes that the cosmos has ever decided to play on us. I would love nothing more than to see them fail miserably on the biggest stage possible after watching them beat the Bills like a drum for the entirety of Tom Brady's career.
This is not that failure. The NFL's arcane and senseless rule structure that led to the Dez Bryant catch being waved off is to blame. What most of the shrieking masses do not know is that the NFL allows teams to keep their own balls for offensive usage. A petition was circulated by Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and other top flight QBs back in 2006 asking for permission to do so and it was granted by the NFL
Professional athletes are competitive by nature. No one rises to the highest levels unless they are searching for every edge to exploit. By all accounts, Tom Brady eats, sleeps, and breathes the game of football. Does the fact that he prefers a football that is easier to grip take away from his relentless passion for film/playbook study and his relentless off season training regimen? Aaron Rodgers has gone on record as saying he prefers an over inflated ball.
Yet no one is howling in the streets, trying to strip Green Bay of their draft picks. Ball doctoring is one of the dirty secrets of the NFL, much like the MLB. Success breeds hatred and the Patriots' unprecedented run of success causes people to lose their minds when they have a chance of uncovering any blemish on that legacy.
Let's compare Deflategate to a situation where another storied franchise cheated in a manner that was much more visible to the naked eye, to a much smaller outcry from the public. Mike Tomlin, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, another franchise that prides themselves on "doing things the right way", tripped a Baltimore Raven as they broke into the clear up the sideline, stopping a certain touchdown in a key divisional game.
Have we continued to hear about this for years and years? No. Is it even mentioned anymore? No. Do people try to say that Tomlin didn't mean to do it? You bet. Now imagine if Bill Belichick was ever involved in an incident of that magnitude. The sheer amount of hot takes would provide enough heat to keep all of our homes warm this winter.
Lastly, it's a shame to see such a non issue take away from the fact that the Patriots have owned the Colts since they drafted Andrew Luck and would have beaten them playing with beach balls. Luck has never played a game against Tom Brady that was decided by less than three touchdowns. 2012: 59-24. 2014 playoffs: 43-22. 2014 regular season: 42-20. Last week's AFC Championship Game: 45-7. Enough said.