Keidel: It's Fun Watching Almighty Patriots, And Their Fans, Squirm For A Change
By Jason Keidel
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Think of all the pressure points and air pressure puns.
No matter which way you swing on the latest Patriots fiasco, all of Boston and beyond must feel quite deflated.
And the air is rushing out of Tom Brady's Q Score like a balloon. This isn't the first time the NFL has used the Pats as a piñata. For all their greatness on the field, it seems they're equally clever, creative and perhaps criminal off the field.
How do you rate a team that has employed Brady, Tedy Bruschi and Aaron Hernandez? The Patriots are a perfect microcosm of the NFL and our nation, equal parts magnanimous, magnificent and miscreant. The football adage asserts that if you're not cheating you're not trying. No one takes that maxim more literally than New England.
But the Boston area has also seen its share of heroes not only slide off the pedestal, but also slide through the cracks of justice. David Ortiz, the beloved Big Papi, the avuncular face of the team who snapped the Bambino's Curse, is in almost every discussion of renowned juicers, yet we never held him to task. Red Sox fans love to throw Chuck Knoblauch, A-Rod and the conga line of luminaries from the '90s dynasty at us, ignoring their own ignominious history and allergy to the rules. Ortiz is still as large and adored as a parade float. Manny Ramirez didn't get his karmic payback until after his tenure in Beantown.
And the Patriots, despite Spygate, Deflategate and enough gates to surround Gillette Stadium, are still considered the gold standard of sports. Some talking head, whose name eludes me, referred to them as the Yankees of football, which is ironic considering New England as a whole has tried so hard to distance itself from the Yankees, branding the Bronx Bombers all kinds of foul nouns.
We're supposed to remember the bloody sock, but not the bloody syringe that surely found its way into more than one bulging buttock in the bowels of Fenway Park. Let's just say it took similar helpings of character and cartoonish musculature to break the 86-year hex.
Such are the perils of holding yourself in such high regard. All the bratty millennials wearing those "Got Rings?" shirts in the Bronx have been gulping ample humble pie over the last decade, while baseball has caught and surpassed the Yanks in the box office, TV ratings and standings. Personal and professional hubris has a way of biting you back. Ask the Lakers. Ask James Dolan. Ask Jerry Krause, after he said organizations win titles (not Michael Jordan).
Now New England is taking its turn in the spin cycle. It's not the actual act that has us so ornery, but rather how glib Brady has been since the story broke in January. After dusting the Colts in the AFC title game, Brady assured us he knew nothing about doctored footballs, gave no orders and got no special treatment. He grinned his way through every thorny presser, his wide white smile blinding the media and masses.
And even in light of the Ted Wells report, Brady has been as defiant as ever. At his de facto pep rally last week, during which Jim Gray tried to ask him an authentic question, he simply smiled his way past, while the fawning congregation lustily cheered every vowel. One of the many perks of victory is the latitude to sidestep any real reportage, at least until the heat melts the PR bubble around you. It seems even Brady will now be held to task. We think.
This is also a referendum on Roger Goodell. The NFL commissioner is quite chummy with Kraft, so a soft ruling on Brady will only reinforce the notion that he's little more than a mouthpiece for ownership, if not the 33rd owner himself. Goodell dropped a bag of balls over the Ray Rice saga, and even his manicured policies over domestic violence have been vehemently questioned.
So as the sports world holds its breath, and Kraft gulps in abject anticipation, it's kind of fun to watch the anointed ones squirm for a change. The Pats have held the NFL by the privates for so long, and a robust dose of humility, if not humiliation, is in order. If nothing else, it shows that the rules apply to everyone, even the Patriots.
And even Brady.
Follow Jason on Twitter @JasonKeidel.
