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Sports 'N Stuff: Spygate — Enough AlreadyBy Brian Flagg - May 14, 2008
iBerkshires Columnist
Whether you are a casual fan or a fanatic like me you must of heard by now of the "Spygate" scandal involving the New England Patriots and former videographer Matt Walsh.
In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, here it is a nutshell:
Last year, a rumor surfaced that New England had videotaped a St. Louis Rams team walkthrough the day before the Super Bowl in 2002. This was after the Pats were caught stealing signals from the Jets coaches during a game.
Consequently, it also was revealed by Walsh that more tapes existed of several other offensive and defensive squads from other teams. There is a bit more to it but I think you get the idea.
What I am here to tell everyone who keeps yammering about this thing day and night is ENOUGH ALREADY!
Media professionals and other critics are calling for everything from firing the head coach, Bill Belichick, to handing out fines to the organization and even docking them upcoming draft picks. They have been called cheaters, liars and frauds. Their Super Bowl victories have been tagged by many as tainted.
A few things just pop out at me and I am curious to know what you think.
First of all, haven't teams been watching game footage of other teams since the invention of film? Don't you think that legendary coaches like Lou Holtz and Tom Landry have spent countless hours breaking down offenses and defenses on tape? Quarterbacks prepare themselves by watching defensive alignments ON FILM so they can prepare. How is this any different?
The Patriots are comprised of the best owner, the best GM, the best head coach and, arguably, the best quarterback and wide receiver in the game. They have consistently used the NFL draft as a way to build a championship team and had a perfect 16-0 regular season last year.
Was some of it from watching and studying game film? Of course it was. Everyone knows that already. If this was a team that had not won enough Super Bowl rings to outfit a jewelry store it wouldn't even be an issue.
The argument of the Pats being cheaters is ridiculous and the media needs to move on to something else. In recent meetings over the last couple of days with Matt Walsh, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said new information had come to light and that Walsh told him, in fact, he did not know of or possess any footage of the Patriots taping the Rams walkthrough. Therefore, the issue is now over.
Every sport from now until the end of time will record other teams in order to prepare. They always have.
All of you who are whining because your team is not as good as the Pats, quit it. The Pats do it the right way. Until your team does they won't be as good.
Trust me — my team is way behind!
Brian Flagg was co-host of "The Sports Page" on local public access stations for nearly five years. The North Adams resident has been coaching girls' basketball and softball for 16 years. His column usually appears every other Monday. |
| Well Jim I would rather a Bronco run but I don't see that happening for quite some time... | | from: Brian | on: 05-19-2008 |
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Brian,
I couldn't agree with you more. What do they do in baseball when one team steals the other teams signs? Nothing, as it's all part of the game. This goes to show you that the Patriots because they have built a winning tradition since 2001, and because the NFL wants parity in the league have been challenged by every issue. Every non-Patriot fan hates them including all the Giant fans out there. Let's hope that this can be put to rest and we can move on to the 2008 NFL season with another New England run. | | from: Jim | on: 05-18-2008 |
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Screenplay - you just made one of my strongest points for me. It wasn't the Pats are cheating. They did the same thing EVERY OTHER TEAM IN EVERY OTHER SPORT HAS DONE...it's not cheating. However, because they have been so dominant they are made scapegoats.
Do you really think that NO OTHER team in the NFL uses video?
| | from: Brian | on: 05-15-2008 |
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Brian there is a little town out west, maybe you've heard of it, it's called Las Vegas. And just in case you were born yesterday, I have to tell you that in Vegas over the course of the last seven years billions of dollars have been wagered on NFL football games. When you add up all the collective betting on football on a global scale it is hundreds of billions of dollars. A lot of people lost a lot of money because of the Pats cheating.
Now,in the gambling world, its called "fixing a game" when organized cheating occurs within a sports franchise. When this happens you leave the rhelm of sports and enter the sleazy world of crime. Regardless of what Rodger would have us believe, Specter knows that the Pats had a huge advantage from cheating. So would people betting on the game if they knew about the fix. A lot of people knew about the cheating, probably the whole team. So, how many of them were betting on the games? It's not a stretch to think at some point over seven years organized crime might have gotten wind of it. When a horse race or a boxing match is fixed, they don't loose a draft pick, someone goes the jail. I hope Specter gets to ask questions to some people under oath. | | from: screenplay | on: 05-15-2008 |
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