Balls to the wall! Let's get this over with and move on...........

(Sorry.  I just could not let this one pass by.)

   It's full steam ahead (balls to the wall) in the reporting of the important news of the day. There are so many newsworthy events happening around the world it becomes difficult to decide what to include and not include in a broadcast, I would assume. But when one of the items up for consideration to be included with the other world news is a scandal over improperly inflated or deflated balls, that's got to be as important as the terrorist activity in Syria or the continued search for the bodies of those lost in the AirAsia crash. For sure, talking about properly inflated or deflated balls is something most of the population can comprehend and get their hands around. And the burning question here.... Who let the air out?

   There is the potential for so much to be at play here with this story. After all, it is a game, only a game. But what is reflected in all the attention given to the events of who, what, where, when and why surrounding proper pressure in (foot)balls is society's fascination with sports. Come on. We all picture ourselves at some point scoring the winning touchdown and doing the "dance of joy" in the end zone or standing on the foul line, the game tied, no time remaining on the clock and sinking the foul shot to win the game. The crowd goes wild and for a brief second or two we are a hero. What 'hero' wants to stand there holding a deflated ball? Is it really only a game?

   Almost no one likes it when someone else has to cheat to win, except the person doing the cheating. At this point I am not accusing the Patriots of cheating. The jury is still out for me. But ask most kids at play on the playground. Ask a local politician or two. No one likes a cheater, not even another cheater. But the importance of winning at any cost, winning at some point in your life, has become so much a part in our society and who we are that some people will do almost anything to gain an advantage or edge.

   I found it interesting that even our Governor weighted in on deflated balls. I was surprised to learn how knowledgeable he appears to be regarding deflated balls and the ethics and moral character of the New England Patriots, their coach and the players. And his favorite team? Could it be the..... Dallas Cowboys? And why?

   But what if there were no real foul play here, in Foxborough, and this turns out to be “just a lot of hot air"? Maybe the pump didn't work. What if no one tampered with the Patriot's balls? What if the player who intercepted the pass just didn't like the way the ball felt. Do all (foot)balls really feel the same?

   Tom Brady, in his news conference, spoke about his preference for how he likes the balls to feel when he grips them, ready to throw a 55- 60 yard pass to Edelmann or Gronk. “So do the other quarterbacks,” he said, trying to assure the reporters that he might not be alone in caring how balls feel.

   But as of early Saturday morning it appears  the league is getting near the end of it's investigation and that we soon will know the real story behind the deflated balls. The following is taken from the Daily Beast on 1/23....... 

  

        Early evidence has concluded that the New England Patriots used underinflated footballs during Sunday’s AFC Championship victory, though it’s still unclear whether the balls were intentionally deflated (or if the Pats knew). “While the evidence thus far supports the conclusion that footballs that were underinflated were used by the Patriots in the first half,” the NFL said in a statement Friday, “the footballs were properly inflated for the second half and confirmed at the conclusion of the game to have remained properly inflated.” The NFL said the goal of its “investigation will be to determine… whether any noncompliance was the result of deliberate action.” The league said at least 40 interviews have been conducted and video evidence collected. 

   
    (Now I do believe that report speaks for itself and clears things up nicely.)

   And for the NFL, if nothing else, the discussion of deflated or as the article describes them as underinflated balls, takes the focus off the mishandling of other more important issues facing this league and other major league sports. But then again, we do love our games and are often willing to overlook or forget those issues we don't want to remember.

    Underinflated balls will probably not prevent me from watching the game next week as I already have my snacks ready for the game, but I do wonder what will be the next major “scandal”? Perhaps it will be overinflated egos?

By the way.....the spell check on my computer does not recognize the word 'underinflated'. If the word isn't included in a spell check, is it a real thing? Draw your own conclusion.     :)