What if the Yankees cheated?
January 11, 2008
During my recent trip to Boston for the holidays, I found myself engulfed in a sports euphoria that I have never seen or experienced before. When I walked into Bob’s, my routine first-stop sub-shop in Medford, the guy that was prepping my Jumbo Steak Tip sub was wearing a 2007 Red Sox World Series Champs T-Shirt, New England Patriots 2007 AFC East Division Champs hat and was sporting green Celtics wristbands.
When I told him I was in from out of town visiting family, he proudly offered me the “Welcome to the City of Champs” greeting. I ignored his greeting and was instead trying to figure out whether or not to ask him if he was wearing those same wristbands last year at this time when Kevin Garnett was scoffing at the thought of becoming a Celtic. Yes… he scoffed. I let it slide and decided it was time to start a blog.
Insert Digression Here: I hope that the true Celtic fans and bandwagoners don’t forget that the Big3 would be the Big2 if it were not for the Ray Allen trade. Garnett’s getting all the love, but he wouldn’t be enjoying a renewed passion for basketball if Ray Allen didn’t agree to go to Beantown.
You may not know this, but ever since the Sox were down 3 games to 1 against the Indians and hanging by a thread in the ALCS, the Sox, Pats and Celtics have gone a combined 52-3! That is not a type-o. 52 wins and only 3 freaking losses…pretty amazing stuff. The city has gone completely insane. No wonder why Joey behind the counter is about to keel over. Well, either the sports excitement will kill him or the Jumbo Steak-n-Cheese Extra Cheese that he puts down everyday at lunch’ll catch up to him.
While I understand the hysteria, perhaps the most alarming element that stood out to me while I was there was not only watching the Pats go 16-0 – but witnessing the complete disregard that New England fans had for the fact that the Patriots got caught cheating in the season opener. I Know, I Know, Old news, right? Let it go, right? The Pats got caught red-handed. There was a tape. There’s no disputing it. Would Red Sox fans let it go if it happened to them? I think not. Not only are New England fans overlooking this – but the Associated Press has gone and named Bill Belichick the Coach of The Year. What????? Stop the insanity. I ask you this…
Are Red Sox fans and Patriots fans the same group of lunatics? (I mean no disrespect by using the word lunatic.This summer I spent $450 on 2 tickets to see the Red Sox and Yanks play – I’m in that looney camp) Imagine for a moment what would have happened if the Red Sox found out that the Yankees had been using electronic devices to steal signals during a game? I’m not talking about stealing a sign from a catcher or manager, but Joe Torre sending a camera guy to the bleachers to figure out which nasty pitch Beckett is about to throw next. Is the guy on first about to steal? What about the hit and run? Red Sox Nation would be going wicked crazy (one Boston term for wicked is “very”). The Mitchell Report wouldn’t even compare to the investigation us Sox lunatics would demand. Secret Service Agents, FBIers, The Mob – somebody get to the bottom of this. Ban Steinbrenner for life! Take away all 26 championships! Those Yankee %%$$#^% have always cheated! We knew it all along! I can hear it now as clear as a bell.
Patriots cheat, get caught and somehow, somewhere the rug has become big enough to sweep all this under. How do we know they haven’t cheated before? What about their prior Super Bowls? Are they tarnished? Should they be? Should there be an asterisk? It seems like the NFL and media alike are letting it slide because the Patriots were demolishing teams all year long and quite possibly trying to prove they didn’t need to cheat. But they did cheat (that makes them cheaters), and are now in the process of trying to make NFL history by going 19-0 and the coverage is non-stop. Is the message this: “It’s okay to cheat if the story turns out to be an historical event?” It appears that in this case the answer is yes. If so, then lay off Barry Bonds for allegedly cheating while breaking one of the most hallowed records in sports and leave Clemens alone. You can’t have it both ways. If you demand an asterisk next to Bonds and Clemens – then the Pats had a 16-0*season… Look out for Jacksonville.
Remember, you probably didn’t hear it here first…
If the Patriots had planted someone two feet back sitting in the front row taping as they did it would not be against the rules. In this day and age were you can have a video recorder go 40x plus they would have gotten the same coverage they got by standing someone on the sidelines.
Cheating is wrong and they were punished but what you fail to also mention is the Jets got caught last year for the exact same thing and the NFL commish not only ignored the complaint. They destroyed the tapes and they did nothing about it. ESPN and CNNSI barely covered this when it was finally brought out into the open and it has never been mentioned again. It took almost an entire year for anyone in the media to report this happened and the only reason anyone knows it happened is because the story got leaked.
NO ONE has a problem with the NFL commish hiding Mangini cheating because they are friends and who do you think leaked out the video the Patriots tape? The NFL commish’s wife works for Fox. Pretty easy to do the math when you have all the facts.
Does Bill Belichick seem like a stupid man to you? Do you really think he would sit someone on the sidelines in Patriots gear taping the other team if he didn’t want Mangini to know he was doing it? and what does it say about Mangini that he got away with doing the exact same thing and then he reported Bill? and no one cares to write about it.
As for the Celtics braclet this guy was wearing last year I can’t say 100% for sure he was lying but he was lying. NO ONE cared at all about the Celtics last year. Or the last 3 and a half years. Band wagon fans are out in droves.
FYI the word wicked is rarely ever used here and every time someone tries to make fun of Boston by using the word it makes them sound un-educated.
Thanks for the response. You make some great points…
First off – I lived in Boston for 25 years, so I am not making fun of anybody back there for using the word “wicked”. You may be surprised, but I hear it every time I visit the city – that’s why I referenced it.
Pats fans (or at least the ones I’ve spoken too) feel the following:
1.) The fines were paid
2.) everybody was doing it – not just the Patriots
3.) they got caught, but they didn’t need to cheat anyways
4.) They didnt cheat to win their Super Bowls
Sounds like you agree with at least the first two…
That’s a fine outlook – but this is the exact opposite attitude that baseball fans have towards Barry Bonds. Baseball fans in New England too, arguably the greatest and most knowledgable fans on the planet. Barry’s been getting hammered by everyone under the sun for the last 3 years. I can’t stand Barry by the way – and am in no way defending him. I just think it’s hypocritical that the media wants to let Spygate slide while following every breath Clemens takes – trying to figure out if he cheated. Will he stand before Congress? Who’se suing who next? Is McNamee the real liar here? Enough already.
Have the Patriots disarmed New England fans of their right to call anyone in sports a cheater ever again? I think they have. I don’t think Patriots fans can justify their team one second – then soundly attack alleged steroid and HGH users the next. I think outlets like ESPN are doing the same thing.
You can’t be more right about the tapes being destroyed. How does that happen? How is Congress not checking into that with all of its down time? I’m not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist – but it seems that there are a ton more layers to this one – and it’s getting passed over and over and over. If that’s the case, leave Barry, Palmeiro, Clemens – and everyone else alone for that matter. Put your asterisks away.
If Pats fans feel that the Pats just did what everyone else was already doing – then don’t you think that’s Barry’s argument (at least privately)? Yeah he wasn’t fan or media friendly, but Belichick is an equal piece of work when it comes to those press conferences – he’s just figured out how to let it motivate his players, while all Barry can do is keep pissing everyone off.
Thanks again for the response…
Look beyond lack of warmth to the media. Barry’s fellow teammates and his coaches have never liked him either. Therein lies a big difference between Belichick and Bonds.