The New England Patriots, soon to take the field against the Seattle Seahawks in the 49th edition of the Super Bowl, has, for the last several days, been the subject of a potential scandal known in the media as “Deflate-Gate.”
It seems that the Patriots have been accused of letting some of the air out of the dozen footballs in the possession of the team an hour prior to the shellacking of the Baltimore Colts. Such an act would, it is said, assist quarterback Tom Brady in the passing game.
I have no axe to grind here. My first choice for a Super Bowl selection was the Philadelphia Eagles because we have a church member who earned a starting position this season with the team. When the Eagles were eliminated, I reverted to the Green Bay Packers.
When I was younger, I watched Green Bay win what would later be known as Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II. Under Coach Vince Lombardi, the Packers were legendary. So, when Green Bay also fell by the wayside, I generally lost interest in this year’s contest.
So, a few thoughts on the matter, the first being, “Who cares?” The Patriots could have smashed the Colts with a Nerf football, so badly did the Colts play and so thoroughly did the Patriots dominate. If Brady and most the starting offense, and a good portion of the defense, had dropped dead on the field, the Colts might – might – have emerged victorious.
Now, I didn’t play college football and certainly did not have an ability to attempt professional football. But, counting junior high, high school, and military ball, I did eight years on the gridiron — one year as a tackle and seven as an offensive center.
My final season ended with my being named to the Marine East All-Star Team at Quantico, Va. We beat the West 31-30. But I digress.
As a center, I had my hands on the ball for every offensive play in the games I started. In addition to that, I snapped the football untold thousands of times in practice. One got a feel for the football and a feel for how a football should feel. If a ball was overinflated or underinflated, I would notice.
But an official — well, the official that put the ball on the line of scrimmage would have his hands on the football every play. When the Colts were on offense, he would have his hand on the Colts’ ball. The same when New England went on the offense.
Surely, that same official that handled the footballs of both teams would be able to detect an irregularity. If a high school center could tell the difference, wouldn’t an NFL official with years of professional experience be able to tell?
I think it’s much ado about nothing. What will come out of this, I believe, is that, starting next season, the officials, not the teams, will control all the footballs to be used in a given games. And so should it be.
Is it possible that somebody cheated and deflated the New England footballs? Yes, of course. If it happened, did it make a difference in the outcome? The Pats won 45-7. So, no, it did not.
So, let the game commence. Go Eagles. Go Green Bay. There’s always next year.
[David Epps is the pastor of Christ the King Church, 4881 Hwy. 34 E., Sharpsburg, GA (www.ctkcec.org).]Georgia House Majority Whip Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City) recently announced the appointment of his Deputy Whip team, which monitors legislation and helps representatives understand the details of each bill.
