I think part of the problem is the word "cheating" itself. It has so much emotional baggage attached to it, and Americans love a scandal that allows them to wallow in moral outrage. So much of this whole issue has been about the PR. ESPN and the NFL Network did their level best to hype this up (partly at the request of Goodell, I'm convinced) in the days following the infamous Chris Mortenson report about "11 of 12 balls" that you have people treating an equipment violation like it's the most nefarious deed ever committed. They got sucked in by Trembly-Chin Brunell getting all weepy on ESPN and panels of ex-players (who lost to the Patriots in big games) wagging their fingers.
Let's look at a comparable situation: earlier this year, it came out that Jerry Rice was in some video for football gloves and talked about using stickum when he played, even though it was, in his words, "a little bit illegal". Once it really got out there, you had people screaming "he CHEATED!!!!!!11!!!!" I mean, come on. Yeah, he broke a rule, but it's Jerry freaking Rice we're talking about. Anyone who really thinks a) stickum is the only reason he was good and b) the guys he was playing against weren't also bending rules is delusional.
At the end of the day, I continue to find that the people most likely to talk about tarnished legacies and asterisks tend to be fans of the other AFC East teams or fans of the Patriots' biggest rivals, especially the Ravens, Steelers, and Colts (this is not to say there aren't fans of those teams who see what a farce this whole process has been). That's just fans being fans, and I can identify when I think about how I used to feel about the Yankees prior to 2004. Yes, there will be a footnote on Brady's career about ball deflation when it's all said and done. I don't think there's any remedy to that at this point. But I think over time, more rational heads will prevail and look back at him as one of the best in the history of the league.
Let's look at a comparable situation: earlier this year, it came out that Jerry Rice was in some video for football gloves and talked about using stickum when he played, even though it was, in his words, "a little bit illegal". Once it really got out there, you had people screaming "he CHEATED!!!!!!11!!!!" I mean, come on. Yeah, he broke a rule, but it's Jerry freaking Rice we're talking about. Anyone who really thinks a) stickum is the only reason he was good and b) the guys he was playing against weren't also bending rules is delusional.
At the end of the day, I continue to find that the people most likely to talk about tarnished legacies and asterisks tend to be fans of the other AFC East teams or fans of the Patriots' biggest rivals, especially the Ravens, Steelers, and Colts (this is not to say there aren't fans of those teams who see what a farce this whole process has been). That's just fans being fans, and I can identify when I think about how I used to feel about the Yankees prior to 2004. Yes, there will be a footnote on Brady's career about ball deflation when it's all said and done. I don't think there's any remedy to that at this point. But I think over time, more rational heads will prevail and look back at him as one of the best in the history of the league.
