upstater1
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I'm sorry to do this, another thread on this issue, but over the last few days I've heard the ins and outs of everyone's argument, and I'm stealing from the best of those arguments. A few talking points for us are necessary since so much of Patriot fandom is coming together at this point.
One, the Patriots broke the rule. Everyone agrees with this. The rule is basic.
Two, though we're still in disagreement about whether they were cheating, the Patriots can best defend themselves by agreeing that this constitutes an attempt to upset the competitive balance. In other words, yes they were cheating.
Three, the NFL's Steve Alic last year said, "That's football," when apprised that the Phins used unauthorized tape to steal the Patriots' signals and employ them in a game. I have no idea how I can interpret his statement other than to say that the NFL condones the use of unauthorized technology to steal signals in some instances. I'd conclude, the NFL authorizes cheating.
If you stick to these talking points, you can avoid discussions about whether the Patriots cheated. This is a real gray area. We just don't know how they used the videotape. So just accept that the Patriots cheated.
You can also avoid the always losing and lame argument that "everyone does it." Yes, but when you get caught doing something wrong, no one has sympathy for that argument. People will say that the Phins weren't caught cheating. That's irrelevant. More power to them. The focus should be on the NFL's reaction to the Phins' hypothetical cheating. The league condoned it. So whether or not the Patriots cheated is irrelevant.
The best part of these talking points is that it turns the attention back onto the NFL since the NFL is the organization that legitimized this form of cheating last year.
Finally, a fourth talking point. Many losers like Hines Ward, Joey Porter, Jeff Fischer, have brought up the idea that the Patriots' wins from prior seasons are tainted. This lame argument can easily be turned around by looking at the Phins game. A win there and the Patriots are 13-3. The championship game against Indy is a home game at Foxboro in January. That may have changed some of the complexion of the game. Don't take anything away from Indy. They won fair and square. But show people how lame their argument is by using their logic to lamely argue the Patriots were stripped of their fourth Super Bowl through NFL-sanctioned cheating.
One, the Patriots broke the rule. Everyone agrees with this. The rule is basic.
Two, though we're still in disagreement about whether they were cheating, the Patriots can best defend themselves by agreeing that this constitutes an attempt to upset the competitive balance. In other words, yes they were cheating.
Three, the NFL's Steve Alic last year said, "That's football," when apprised that the Phins used unauthorized tape to steal the Patriots' signals and employ them in a game. I have no idea how I can interpret his statement other than to say that the NFL condones the use of unauthorized technology to steal signals in some instances. I'd conclude, the NFL authorizes cheating.
If you stick to these talking points, you can avoid discussions about whether the Patriots cheated. This is a real gray area. We just don't know how they used the videotape. So just accept that the Patriots cheated.
You can also avoid the always losing and lame argument that "everyone does it." Yes, but when you get caught doing something wrong, no one has sympathy for that argument. People will say that the Phins weren't caught cheating. That's irrelevant. More power to them. The focus should be on the NFL's reaction to the Phins' hypothetical cheating. The league condoned it. So whether or not the Patriots cheated is irrelevant.
The best part of these talking points is that it turns the attention back onto the NFL since the NFL is the organization that legitimized this form of cheating last year.
Finally, a fourth talking point. Many losers like Hines Ward, Joey Porter, Jeff Fischer, have brought up the idea that the Patriots' wins from prior seasons are tainted. This lame argument can easily be turned around by looking at the Phins game. A win there and the Patriots are 13-3. The championship game against Indy is a home game at Foxboro in January. That may have changed some of the complexion of the game. Don't take anything away from Indy. They won fair and square. But show people how lame their argument is by using their logic to lamely argue the Patriots were stripped of their fourth Super Bowl through NFL-sanctioned cheating.
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