2007 September 15 | Haynes.tv

One of the most celebrated teams in sports history and three time world champions, the New England Patriots have been caught red handed. The team was caught cheating last week, by means of filming the hand signals of the opposing New York Jets. This has raised all sorts of questions from: was it really that bad of thing to should it just be though of as just part of the game such as the famous “hack-a-Shaq” technique in basketball (a techniques in which Shaquille Oâ€™Neil is intentionally fouled in order send him to the free throw line, where his percentage is quite poor, and he will likely miss one out of two instead of allowing him to get a 2 point basket) or even football tactics such as icing the kicker (calling a time out right before an important field goal attempt in order to put more pressure on the kicker), or holding (which is now considered legal inside the framework of the body) or internationally committing a holding penalty to prevent a pass inference penalty because it is for 5 yards less, or even walking batters in baseball for that matter. The gist here, is that while owners and executives are on one hand always trying to make the game more “fair”, on the other it seems they do not even know what they really want at the core of the game. Specifically where and what they want the competition to focus upon, it seems that these rules are really just about trying to play robin hood and even things out by stealing the edge that the tactful players and coaches enjoy. Granted this cannot excuse the Patriots at this point because they have broken an established rule, but letâ€™s examine why all these crazy rules have been created, it seems that many rules are created after someone has gained an edge through then legal means specifically to take that edge away. This of course is not unique to the football, in fact it seems to be the nature of modern sports for someone to find a way to get an edge; then word eventually gets out, and everyone implements it themselves or they find a way to eliminate that edge though new rules. Though out the history of sports many have searched for a way to get an edge, and it has become all the more important today where the difference between the winners and the loser is often so minute, so as it some sporting events it can only be measured in milliseconds.

Why is it that instead of continually defining what the game is not, they do not just define what the game is, and state anything else is simply not a part of it? I believe it is because we deep down want to see people come up with ingenious new tactics, some of which we do not always like at fist and even maintain many different opinions of whether it is alright, to eventually have it completely transform the game. Although, the Patriots were clearly in the wrong it this instance, it seems they have now just become as many others in professional sports, and have followed in the growing trend of doing anything to get an edge at any cost. This really hurts because the Patriots were portrayed as noble and above the rest due to their humility and lack of basking in the spot light in favor of meticulous preparation. Now when they display that same tendency towards failure and not dwelling upon their serious wrong doing, in favor of focusing solely on preparing for San Diego it seems so negative, and to a degree rightfully so. It seems that the Patriots are now also pragmatists, like so many today. However, now that the New Patriots clearly have sunk to pragmatism the question becomes can we still bestow upon them the designation of a dynasty, or will history condemn them to the ranks of Pete Rose, Mark McGwire, and Barry Bonds (Rose was banned from major league baseball for gambling, and remains ineligible for the hall of fame. The verdict is still out on Bonds and to a lesser extent McGwire, though it seems pretty clear both of them used steroids of some sort in order to attain their records.) Things certainly look bleak right now, but I certainly believe the Patriots can recover and Robert Kraftâ€™s statement seems to speak volumes for the fact that they accept the failure and are ready to move on. It is going to take time for the fans to heal. Since the trust has been broken, it will take time to learn to trust the Patriots again.