By Tim Baldwin
Deflated footballs. How are Americans so concerned about something that has no economic, political or personal affect in their lives? Football teams are nothing like our little league, high school or even college sports teams. They are corporations owned by multi-millionaires who seek one thing: profit. The owners exploit America’s historic love of football and competition to do this. NFL players are bought and traded to make a more profitable team. They are under employment contracts for millions of dollars to play a game. Why do we care?
Montana is currently in session. Legislators are proposing bills to become law. Our lives will be controlled by these laws. Legal trends and culture will be accomplished. Have we taken the time to look at these bills, talk to our legislators and discern if there are any “deflated balls” to be concerned about in Helena? Our state Supreme Court enters orders routinely that affect how our constitution is applied to civil and criminal issues. Do we attempt to read their opinions? Our county attorneys and attorney general unilaterally decide who to prosecute or not. Who knows if they are doing it properly?
People are awaiting the results of NFL’s investigation of Deflategate. Hopefully, in the meantime, we will attend to the real world.
By Joe Carbonari
The less air in a football, to a point, the easier it is to catch, and to throw. The same size hand can grip it better. Fingertip catches are easier, more likely. Quicker, harder throws are possible. How much of an edge? It depends on the luck of the game. Would it help the side that had it? You bet.
Say the air is let out of 11 of the 12 balls that the New England Patriots can use when they are on offense. Each team, conveniently, supplies its own balls. They receive official inspection prior to the kickoff and then are separately managed, by each team, and supplied, on the sidelines, by them, to their own offense. No, I’m not kidding.
If a ball is intercepted, its “softer” nature might well be noticed in the process. These guys are professionals. They catch a lot of balls. They know how they feel, and they know the “tricks” of the trade. I’d complain – reportedly someone did. Wouldn’t you?
The game has been tainted. It has gone from “our team against yours, may the best win” to “we’ll cheat to win.
If I have them right, the ball-handling “rules” of the NFL are a knowing invitation to the debasement of the game. It is a shame for the Patriots, for their fans, and for the “game” itself. Fix it, please.