Wouldn’t you know it - just when you thought Bill Belichick was being an honest guy…

Okay, maybe you hadn’t gotten there yet either, but it seemed the whole Spygate thing was water under the bridge. (Somebody smack me for every cliche that seeps out of my mouth and onto this blog today.)

Not so.

And now it looks pretty ugly what with the mysterious golf pro, the unidentified man taping the Rams walk through prior to Super Bowl XXXVI, and the ever-present shoulder injury suffered so valiantly by Tom Brady from the time he learned how to say his first word: “supermodel”. Now all we need is Roger Goodell in the library with the candlestick (or the shredder) and we have ourselves a board game. (Disclaimer 1: We don’t know for sure Belichick is guilty of taping the Rams practice.)

Who loses in all of this drama? The fans. (Is that a cliche? Sadly, and I will take my smack, I think it is.)

That’s what has me so mad. Not only do the fans take the brunt of this no matter who they are rooting for in this year’s Super Bowl, but if these accusations prove true then we know Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about Patriots fans and the fans of the game of football. To take such a risk (by risk I don’t mean the risk of getting caught, but the risk of destroying the integrity of the game by cheating) when the team is and has been populated with such tremendously talented players is beyond selfish, it’s an assault on the game itself, and by association, the fans.

Everybody does it? I don’t think so, and I think Vince Lombardi would be appalled by that suggestion.

Gaining a competitive advantage is the secret to winning in the NFL today. Advantages such as excellent coaching, creative game planning, bold play calling, athletic players throughout the roster, and dynamic team chemistry are keys to the door of the velvet box holding the coveted big silver football.

It’s a shame that door doesn’t also require the passing of a lie detector test in order to open it.

For the first time ever I am feeling a bit forlorn on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s not because my team isn’t playing, it’s because I fear one team isn’t playing by the rules. That brings out my maternal instinct because I want to protect this game at all costs. I have loved football since before I could say supermodel.

This is OUR game. As fans we pay the way for teams to participate in this sport. The NFL makes its cash because WE love the game and peel off dollars from our ever-shrinking wad of bills to buy tickets, pay for cable, and get our game day gear. Stadiums rise in cities across this country via our tax dollars. Beer companies, chip companies and those who grow avocados all benefit from our devotion to this game. Our children fall in love with the sport and its star athletes, looking up to them as examples of the glory that comes with working hard, paying your dues, and living honestly. Without us fans this game would cease to exist. Plain and simple.

Today I can’t ignore the elephant in the stadium. (That hurt.) As a result I am on a mission to find the truth and support Senator Arlen Spector in his quest for same. Sure, there’s a lot going on in this country that requires the full attention of our government, but in bad times we rely upon our sports and entertainment to keep our chin tilted north. Sports scandals can have as much of a negative impact on society as corruption in government. Steroids in baseball are bad and we need to rid the game of performance enhancing drugs. But this is worse. Why? Because Bill Belichick isn’t jacking himself or his players up on drugs to gain a supposed advantage, he’s stealing other teams’ game plans. That’s downright ugly. He could single-handedly take down the NFL and gambling, which so far exceeds the economic impact of the league that I am surprised Belichick is still walking around today if you get my drift. (That one wasn’t intentional.)

At least I have my chili and gluten-free beer. Chocolate usually lifts my spirits, too. To be honest, what would truly make me happy would be a Giants victory. But I’d still feel bad for the players on the Patriots and their loyal fans.

I may not find out the real story behind Spygate in the near future, but I do know that the truth will always out. (C’mon, that’s barely a cliche. Ouch.) And when it does we’ll pick up our puffy fingers and move on.

UPDATE: Things have deteriorated. Ryan Seacrest has a microphone and is apparently standing on a red carpet AT. THE. SUPER. BOWL. UGGGHHHHH.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 at 2:49 pm and is filed under Fantoo Blog Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.