This campaign is nothing new, but has raised the stakes incredibly because of social media and the contrived Patriots hatred. In 1996 the Patriots were on their way to going to the first Super Bowl that they had even the slimmest of chances of winning, yet the big story and DISTRACTION was the constant news stories that Parcells was going to the Jets. Despite the fact that this was so obviously tampering, the Jets proceeded without any problem from the league to make themselves the bigger story in the Super Bowl.
Because I lived in New Jersey at the time, I witnessed the medias and fans celebration of the Jets cheating and ruining both the chances of the Patriots in the Super Bowl as well as the enjoyment of the fans of the Patriots. Few remember that Bill Belichick was installed as their head coach and Parcells as the "consultant", and the media both fawned over BB as well as lauded the Jets front office for CHEATING so deftly.
Move forward a few years and BB committed the ultimate sin, screwing them back and going to New England. Not only did he reject them, he went to their rivals, and even worse won 3 Super Bowls.
Each one, the media had to challenge. 2001 the Tuck Rule, the only reason the Patriots won, many were using the word CHEATED then, even though it was a rule in the book. 2003 all of the media was fawning over Manning, and predicted that the Patriots would get their head handed to them. The narrative after, the Patriots CHEATED, by harassing the receivers. Let's change the rules. 2004 again the media ball washing Manning and predicted the Patriots had no shot (remember Prisco). 2006 season, Ladanian Tomlinson's ridiculous tirade taken seriously, which saw a great deal of hype. I for one saw this coming, earlier in the year there were some pot shots taken at BB about his son (weed) and his marriage and the personal smears were starting. 2007 we all know "spy gate" but how many of us remember the Randy Moss story about domestic violence and breaking his finger. Or Tom Brady in Manhattan all week on a bad foot. Then the ultimate story/distraction the "walk Through" tape, which only took Goodell a couple months to say "never mind, we don't have anything". Today people still site that story as if it were true, despite the retractions.
Since then, they have been able to get their message across by throwing Spygate in everyones face. But 2014 was different Brady was supposed to have hit bottom, "he didn't like his coaches and team", he was washed up, "they're not good anymore. " Manning on the other hand was still going strong. At the end of the season though, this was not the case, Brady was again leading the cast of nobodies to the Super Bowl, while Manning had embarrassed himself, once again, in the playoffs with a loaded team. Again the media was wrong! We all know what has happened since.
