By Courtney Carr
Staff Writer
There, I said it. In this New England hating world I have said the unimaginable by plainly stating my loyalty to a team that has a less than perfect reputation for playing fair. I am not here to defend the questionable things that have happened both in the past and present seasons but to say that my loyalty remains with the likes of Gronkowski and Brady.
Yes, the fact that 11 of our 12 games balls were deflated let the air out of my excitement about going to the Super Bowl but it did not erase the past 22 years of rooting for my hometown team. Do I wish that all game balls were up to snuff? Of course I do. This is simply because it would have meant that there would not be this damper on the amazing game that was played against The Colts. When I was watching that game in New York territory I felt a comradery with the players on the screen. Every time Brady delivered the ball to Gronkowski or another teammate’s hands I got admittedly way more excited than I should have. In fact I ended up moving my plans back for the night just so I could see how much of a blow out that we could deal to The Colts.
Whether or not you like The Patriots I think it is very important to highlight that this game was not even close. Not in the slightest. From the start The Patriots were out for blood and managed to end the game by crushing The Colts 45-7. I get that cheating is really bad and shouldn’t be a thing that happens especially in the highly profitable and adored NFL. However, I can’t help but to think that even if the balls were up to the correct weight that The Colts would still have lost. Maybe if the game was only a couple points separating the winner from the loser would I be able to commiserate with Colts fans but I’m sorry we could have been playing with balls covered in oil and still have won. Our win didn’t come from just the balls; it came from powerful plays and a quarterback that has an endorsement with Uggs (Brady doesn’t care if you think Uggs are lame).
Regardless of what happened, The Patriots represent New England and do I need to remind you about The American revolution? Do you really think that we won that battle for independence by playing fair? The answer is no. People from New England like to win, throw tea into harbors, and apparently deflate some footballs from time to time. Are you really mad about The Patriot’s sometimes shady characteristics or do you hate us ‘cause you ain’t us?
With all this being said I can only hope that whoever actually did orchestrate what has now been deemed “deflate-gate” stays far, far away from The Super Bowl. I want to be able to proudly look upon my team and what they accomplish without having to constantly deal with cheating jokes when people learn of my New England loyalty. I get it, Belichick is sketchy and his hoodies are ugly even before he cuts the sleeves off. Sadly, what I also get is that although Brady is good at what he does, if he is able to earn his fourth ring, it will already be tarnished.
