Our reputation as 'cheaters' is now sealed forever....so how can we move forward?

Was talking to a friend this weekend who is a Lion's fan. Deflate came up and he said that the whole thing was stupid and a little missing pressure had nothing to do with a 45-7 win.

I don't think most people care about this as much as the media and the keyboard warriors are making of it (including the tribalist maniacs on this site.)

Plus, people on football discussion boards have been calling the Patriots "Cheatriots" and the like for years now.

I don't see how this is a big deal.

How will I move forward? Hmmm. Well, I do a lot of indoor climbing and Sundays are usually a slower day crowd-wise, so I imagine I will continue working on building strength for maneuvers that will hopefully help me achieve my goal of a 5.10 in the near future…

Wait, were we talking about football? Because I hope in the next decade or so the whole shebang goes away for good.

I ask all the Pats fans to stop going to the game, stop buying the jerseys, don't spend another penny on Patriots as a protest of Kraft's statement. Please spread this message as much as you can.

Gator Mike said:

We could go 19-0, win every game by 40 points, and people would still think we cheated.

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if we went 0-16 and lost every game by 40 points people would still think we cheated. It aint going to be pretty at Gillette dealing with rival fans. My plan is to get them kicked out or arrested for starting ****...any **** at all. I'm not going to put up with it.

Chiuba E. Obele said:

I would really love to know how we can move on from this nightmare .... is it going to be as simple as just winning more games? Do the Pats need to embark on a second "FU Tour"? Do we need to win another Super Bowl to escape all this?

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Patriots fans can decide whether they like the patriots of the last 20 years or of the 20 years before that. Folks who don't like what the last 20 years have brought us can move on and root for another team or another sport.

TriplecHamp said:

with Kraft he'll probably just move the team London and make a bunch of $$$! He has been quite interested in a UK franchise.

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Just like he moved the team to Hartford when he had a chance?

The value of the Pats has doubled since Spygate (1.3b -2.6b) and the team has been labeled cheaters the entire time. Where is the problem for Kraft if history repeats itself now?

RunAmok said:

The value of the Pats has doubled since Spygate (1.3b -2.6b) and the team has been labeled cheaters the entire time. Where is the problem for Kraft if history repeats itself now?

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And where is the problem for the patriots players and fans? The team has won more than any other team since Spygate.

We will never be able to escape this one. If we were exonerated this time then we would have some saving grace.

I hope Brady wins the fight.

I will always cheer for Brady and Belichick, no matter where they go.

We have to just prepare the same way we always do every year. Bill will have this team ready for all of us that care to enjoy the hard work they have put in this summer...the same work that they have been putting in for the past 15 summers.

What is the alternative?

Based on what has been posted today, there will be lots of room on the wagon.

I hate with a passion the fiasco that this has become just as much as everyone else. You'd swear all 53 were on HGH the way we are getting crucified. If people just step back and look at the bigger picture, relative to the rest of the 31 teams, then it is laughable.

I will be there in September and cheer and acknowledge all the work these 53 AND the practice squad and coaches have put in last year. There is no reason to think why it would change this year. They were the best team in the league and their performances spoke for themselves, especially after KC.

They can't beat us on the field so they trap and persecute us off it.

I am hopeful for another 2007. This team will be ready and those that chose to cheer it on will be damn ready too.

Who cares? If we're known as cheaters anyways, we should actually start cheating in order to ensure a 19-0 season.

F&ck everyone.

It's pretty damning when the owner of the team being punished just says, ok go ahead give it to us. We won't fight it. It discredits our entire organization.

I don't know what the hell he was thinking or who advised him ("more probably than not" Roger Goodell) but Kraft has been listening to the wrong people and just made a HORRIBLE MISTAKE that will haunt him for years to come. After this BLUNDER, Kraft can't possibly undo the loss of faith and credibility in the eyes of all the Patriots fans. The Damage is Done!

Joey007 said:

I think it'll blow over better than you think in time.

Sure people will remember this and haters will always remain and call them cheaters, but it won't be a Barry Bonds, Pete Rose magnitude level by any means.

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Our only hope is Tom's suite. If he can show the league witch hunted and singled him out, then there is hope as we would have something to counter the charge of "cheater" with.
Otherwise we will have nothing because the owner caved.

I hope Brady wins his fight, but you can be 100% sure that Kraft will oppose Brady every step of the way, because it means more to Robert Kraft to be a member of the 32 than to be a Patriot, and TB will be fighting the 32.

It will be amazingly sad to see.

VJCPatriot said:

It's pretty damning when the owner of the team being punished just says, ok go ahead give it to us. We won't fight it. It discredits our entire organization.

I don't know what the hell he was thinking or who advised him ("more probably than not" Roger Goodell) but Kraft has been listening to the wrong people and just made a HORRIBLE MISTAKE that will haunt him for years to come. After this BLUNDER, Kraft can't possibly undo the loss of faith and credibility in the eyes of all the Patriots fans. The Damage is Done!

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You take this sport far too seriously on a side note...

mgteich said:

Just like he moved the team to Hartford when he had a chance?

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yes, just like that

I say we should actually cheat. Let's go all out. We may as well be cheating since we have the reputation now.

I just don't wanna hear from Kraft at all next season. As a fan I just don't wanna hear from him. I can never believe him when he talks about his support for the players anymore. If we win the super bowl next year just send Brady and Bill up there to receive the trophy. I wouldn't even wanna hear Kraft blow smoke and tell us how good of fans we are.

5thRing-Hunt said:

I just don't wanna hear from Kraft at all next season. As a fan I just don't wanna hear from him. I can never believe him when he talks about his support for the players anymore. If we win the super bowl next year just send Brady and Bill up there to receive the trophy. I wouldn't even wanna hear Kraft blow smoke and tell us how good of fans we are.

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If we win the SB can someone push him off the podium in the middle of the field when his back is turned?

Any opposing fan out there stupid enough to believe the championships are genuinely tainted and were won because of "cheating" is a ****ing idiot and a disgrace to humanity.

Caught tapping into headsets of opponents? Paying off refs? Stealing playbooks? Hacking into opponents emails, phones, etc.? Spiking opponents water? Underhand payments to cheat the salary cap?

Sure. All of the aforementioned are things I'd genuinely consider as TRUE CHEATING and I'd be ashamed to be a Pats fan if any of those happened.

Joey007 said:

I think it'll blow over better than you think in time.

Sure people will remember this and haters will always remain and call them cheaters, but it won't be a Barry Bonds, Pete Rose magnitude level by any means.

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Are you serious? Half the nation thought we were cheaters based on Cameraplacementgate and Kraft just sealed that moniker on the team forever and ever and ever . . . This does not go away