Yeah right. "I've been a Patriots fan since the merger." Sure. Take it somewhere someone gives a fuck.
I'm so tired of hearing this crap from you guys. Seriously....you've gotten every single bounce...every call...every break under the sun since Mo Lewis knocked Drew Bledsoe into intensive care.. Hell you've been caught cheating twice during that time..and nobody even wants to talk about it or face the fact that it may all be tainted. Could you imagine if the Jets,Giants or god forbid the RAIDERS had gotten caught/punished w. the same set of circumstances?? But you guys just carry on & tout your ridiculous MIT study...which doesn't acknowledge the damning evidence including DESTRUCTION of FEDERAL evidence...which frankly has 0 defense! What's done is done in that regard(at least until the ESPN 30 for 30 that inevitably surfaces sometime after Bellicheat & Cell phone boy retire).But my point remains...you've caught significant breaks..and side stepped alot of controversies....Shady, underhanded potentially paralyzing controversies. Even if you go back to before the new millenium..you had what? 2 super bowl appearances....that's 2 more than the Jets have had in my..and many other Jet fans lifetime. We don't wanna hear it. Steeler fans don't talk about the "SOS" days...Niner fans don't ramble on about YA Tittle...Cowboy fans only LAUGH about 1-15 1989... Nobody gives a shit about Steve Grogan in 2017. I really believe this is all to make yourselves feel better that you've become even WORSE than the very thing you despised prior to this little run....you are TWICE the villain...twice the evil entity than the Yankees have ever been...including 98-01 era.You wanna keep winning..and you wanna do it guilt free. You truly wanna believe all of this is justified. Maybe for a short time it was. It was mildly cute until 08....when alot of shit came to the surface.Now there is no way to defend it,rationalize it or make yourselves feel better. Of course you are allowed to root for your team good times & bad. But don't insult our snake bitten fan base who can't even get the QB position right let alone win some hardware. It's 2017.....nobody gives a shit about the Pat-The-tics era. Just wear that proverbial Snide smile that we've come to know so well & be grateful for what you have. There are fan bases who will never experience a small fraction of the things your team has...why insult those around you? Are you really that blind to the controversy & Ill will your team represents???
Somebody should put together a list of the number of rules changes that Bill Belichik has inspired over the years by repeatedly wandering into gray areas in search of an advantage. I bet there'd be 10 rules that have changed since he took over the Pats that were changed because he essentially cheated a team out of a win by doing something marginally shady. The taping wasn't even a gray area. There was a rule against it and Belichik ignored the rule any way because he saw an advantage to doing so. Half the boos Goodell gets are because he held the Pats accountable and half are because he didn't. Well maybe 95% total are based on his poor judgement in dealing with the Pats over the years. Belichik should have been suspended for a couple of seasons after Spygate. That was one of the worst sports scandals in decades and Goodell just fined the Pats a draft pick and some money and Belichik some money and let it go after that.
the choices were hammer beli and destroy the tapes or go lightly on beli and let the tapes leak out to show no edge was gained by the taping. going easy and destroying the tapes was the worst possible choice goodell could make. that must have come from his jet employee days.
The worst mistake Goodell ever made was destroying those tapes. They needed to appoint some sort of investigative/advisory board to complete a thorough report on the matter along w. a press release to the fans providing a synopsis. Alot of the Ill will is based on the unknowns surrounding that whole time frame.Of course...if there was really nothing of substance..why destroy it? The integrity of the game was on the line..esp w. a flag ship franchise w. multiple championships under their belt...if nothing was tainted...why the cover up?? I think educated folks can read between the lines..it was covered up for a reason. Just when the masses were beginning to put all of that behind them...Deflate gate transpires. The way they addressed the media w. their cavilier attitude toward the whole ordeal, Brady destroying his phone after the damning texts... It's safe to assume they never learned their lesson after 08. They are chronic rule benders...as you indicated "Gray area". Look for any loophole they can to try & gain an advantage. If it's simply clever...perhaps it's just in the spirit of competition. But everything we've heard on the matter from non Massachusetts entities suggests this is systemic. Someday the truth will be told. Will they be the black sox...or the 80's pistons? time will tell. Goodell shares blame in the matter. As you said..he should've been banned from football orr at the very least suspended for a season or 2 after spygate; Just another break the team up North has caught. Now we wait for ridiculous replies citing far fetched rationalization & name calling.
Jesus, I hope you feel better. I was discussing something with someone on this thread and I mentioned that the Pats went through a lot of bad times before things turned around. I wasn't looking to feel better or looking for any sympathy. I was just stating a fact. The Pats had a pretty sorry history going into this millennium. Didn't realize it was brought up all the time! The fucking envy just seeps through every word of your post. As far as trying to make myself feel better? Why would I need to do that. My team is the most successful football franchise of all time! I do think it makes you feel better to spew that bullshit you just posted.
I live in New England....my in laws are Patriot homers. Don't play dumb. Any time ANYONE calls to mind the fortunes of the Patriots & their fans...we're immediately reminded of pre 2001. At first it was meaningless & just a foolish means of justifying the winning...over time it's become insulting. All teams have Lean years...some more than others. When you go 15 straight years of high performance w. a boatload of rings & "almosts"...side step crippling controversy along the way...nobody wants to hear how awful it was prior. And how awful could it have really been when you were in 2 super bowls & had numerous other playoff appearances? I stand by what i said. And no..no envy. Anger, despair, bitterness, hunger for restiution...absolutely. I care about the integrity of the game.I want to see my team win. I want to see their blood rival who routinely insults the team i love & the whole league for that matter lose.If that's "bullshit"...well that makes you even more of a fraud for romancing how horrible Pre 2001 was.. Why do you need to make yourself feel better? Only you can answer that. But if you are trying to come off as nonthreatening or impartial..your very next sentence goes a long way in making your intentions murky at best. Think what you want. You will anyway. And you'll likely win on the field anyway too. But that doesn't mean Jet fans should have to listen to bullshit about how horrible Patriot fans have it.Scum of the earth.
I've lurked on this board for years and Br4d usually writes sensible things. This might be the dumbest and most petulant post I've ever read. If you have to make new rules in response to something a team has done, it's because what they did WAS NOT AGAINST THE RULES!! Doh. And to say that Spygate warranted a multi-season suspension? Beyond absurd. That's letting your frustration completely run away with you. Yes, your team is terrible, but eviscerating the Patriots won't make it any better, even if you dream that it will.
Ok....so let's remove the football angle for a second. In society...aren't there Mala per se actions that take place that laws have not been invented for yet due to technological/social/financial/aerospace/biological/anatomical advances?Just cause you find a loophole...doesn't make an action any less wrong? Should a hacker have been acquitted 25 years ago for any number of crimes just b.c IT specific law had not yet been invented? No. In most cases...when a criminal finds a loophole..a clever arresting officer or prosecutor for that matter is gonna find a combating loophole of their own for the good of society. Ok now back to football.This is the NFL...not case law. "Ex post facto" need not apply.The Patriots are not a private american citizen. They are part of corporate hiearchy set under a collective bargaining agreement. Perhaps specific doctrines had not been drafted yet for Bellichick's actions. But what was the ultimate intent? The intent was things the NFL DOES prohibit & should prohibit if they care about the integrity of the game which they should. The ultimate intent was assorted forms of espionage to gain an underhanded competitive advantage. Underhanded actions the Jets KNEW about...and warned the Patriots NOT to partake in...if that isn't competitive driven malicious intent I don't know what it is. And guess what? Under the CBA Goodell has ultimate discretion to guard the shield against such threats. It's unconscionable to hear such selfish, revolting arguments simply so one team out of 32 can feel validated within their accomplishments despite obvious mala per se wrongdoings. I guess your ok w. the NFL becoming a glorified WWE. ..In fact i KNOW you are b.c in the last 15 years...not a single Patriot fan, Boston media outlet, Northeast college/university, or team representative has been willing to humble themselves even a FRACTION for the good of the god damn game. It's all about YOU. Go head & respond w. "Every team does it" or some MIT study...we've heard it all before. The smart one's know better.Fish stinks from the head down...and for once I'm not talking about the Dolphins. I'm talking about a certain head coach who loves his "Nantucket blues" The jets maybe terrible..and no..of course we don't like to see our bitter rival win...but this goes beyond petty fan boy stuff. This is about something much more important. And if you REALLY wanna go there....there is more than enough evidence,quotes,acquisations & patterns to suggest that this all started in 02 & has never stopped.When exactly did your cute little dynasty come about? Why don't you go consult w. Harvard or MIT do the math & get back to me. I don't think you wanna open that can of worms though...am i right?
Haha. This is what makes me laugh about Cheats fans. Goodell is a Keystone Cop, we all know this; but at the time, Cheats fans should've kissed his feet because, you know, there's nothing to see here. It always makes me laugh how Cheats fans used to carry on that Goodell is a Jets butt buddy, blah blah. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but you don't stomp and shred tapes and throw them in a bonfire at Beltane if there's nothing to hide.
Of course the Jets are terrible. They probably always will be. That doesn't absolve Bill the Cheat. He should've gotten 4 games, but Goodell, who really should be your hero, wussed out. Mangini expressed regret years later, but guess where he learned it from? Belichick is a great coach and a chess mastermind. Everyone cheats, he just cheats better than everyone else but refuses to admit that he cheats. I give credit where credit is due, but at least admit that your team is up there with the 1918 Word Series.
