No hype in Super Bowl as cheating Patriots are exposed
What you need to know:
- If last year’s game in New Orleans is anything to go by, the Phoenix area will get nearly $500 million (Sh45.5 billion) in revenue and $40 million (Sh3.7 billion) in taxes.
- In 1972, President Richard Nixon okayed the break-in of the Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate Hotel. The henchmen messed and the ensuing investigation by Congress forced Nixon to become the first president to resign.
- What’s ridiculous about this story is that Nixon — known for his paranoia — did not have to cheat. He carried 49 of America’s 50 states in November 1972 and George McGovern went down as one of the most easily defeated candidates in history.
As the world goes about its business on Sunday, Americans will be glued to the ultimate football game of the year; the Super Bowl.
But the usual nationwide hype is missing because one team may be a cheat.
The New England team — Patriots — used deflated balls in its last game, played on a soaked field against a hapless Indianapolis Colts.
Deflated footballs allow the quarterback to have a better grip on the ball and are much easier to catch.
That the National Football League seems to have stalled its investigation beyond the Super Bowl is suspicious. So, too, are denials by the Patriots’ quarterback and coach. In 2007, the team was also involved in another cheating scandal.
The Patriots have said publicly that the balls were deflated by the weather. It is a type of reasoning that defies science and common sense.
The Super Bowl is big money. The game is being played in suburban Phoenix, Arizona, an area that was ravaged by the 2007 recession. If last year’s game in New Orleans is anything to go by, the Phoenix area will get nearly $500 million (Sh45.5 billion) in revenue and $40 million (Sh3.7 billion) in taxes.
Each winning player will get more than $90,000 (Sh8. 2million). But a victory will likely lead to renegotiated contracts and potentially millions of dollars for many individual coaches and players.
So there is a reason to try to get an edge. But the idea of cheating has left many Americans perplexed about the Patriots.
The reason is that they are very good. They are better, man to man, than most of the teams in the league. They can win without necessarily deflating balls or stealing playbooks.
They won the game against the Colts 45-7.
In 1972, President Richard Nixon okayed the break-in of the Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate Hotel. The henchmen messed and the ensuing investigation by Congress forced Nixon to become the first president to resign.
What’s ridiculous about this story is that Nixon — known for his paranoia — did not have to cheat. He carried 49 of America’s 50 states in November 1972 and George McGovern went down as one of the most easily defeated candidates in history.
Nixon was elaborate in his cover-up but the lies eventually caught up to him.
The same is happening in what the press is calling “Deflate-gate.” And the more that the Patriots try to cover up their involvement, the more the general public refuses to believe them.
Sports is a metaphor for life. So far this year, we’ve seen football executives mishandle several horribly violent attacks on women by players. Now this.
Unfortunately, that is what Americans will be thinking about at kick-off on Sunday afternoon. The team with the ‘American Patriot’ on its helmets — painted red, white, and blue — is killing sport’s credibility in this great country.
