The 24/7 sports media cycle needs ratings, and so they create ratings by creating controversy. Quarterback controversies, drama between QB and coach, anything TMZish they can create to make football more than football.
We were unfortunately the worst victims of this. It even gave our slight violation a name, "Spygate" which sounds sinister, a wordplay on something that brought down a President of the United States, and then kept repeating it, and repeating it, and repeating it.
Now having a camera man in the wrong location, at a game that no doubt had more than a hundred cameramen, has become `the Patriots knew every play their opposition was calling and called precise counter plays every down`
I think it's fair for New England fans to despise these people. What the Patriots did in the post-salary cap era was amazing, and what they continue to do is amazing.
The media took our dynasty away.
It isn't seen like the Cowboys dynasty or the Steeler dynasty in some ways, at least some of the time, because it was tarred and feathered by a ratings and controversy hungry media that reported blatantly lies and inaccuracies and reckless speculations over a slight violation of new league policy.
During football season, when I have the fever, I check out other teams forums, even NFC teams that have nothing to do with us. There's a lot of Patriot defenders and Brady supporters out there, and always seem to be the smarter fans in general, but we would be lying to ourselves if we didn't recognize that our football team is tarnished because of it. The mindless drones of the world, of which there are many, repeat Crygate rumors and lies at nausea to one another and it's the go-to excuse.
Every single season we hear about it from all corners and crevices of the country.
It's bull#$#!%
Just once I would like to see Tedy or McGinest go to war with these jokers on BSPN. Pull a Samuel L. Sackson on ESPN's First Take. "Say Spygate one more $^% #&^@ time!"
It's still not too late for the media to correct its wrongs and put it to rest.
If Rodney Harrison wants to complain about something, why doesn't he start complaining about that instead of always sounding like a spiteful shill all the time?