It's good to have Colts fans here.
As a Pats fan, my view of why "this is even an issue" has to do with the recent snowballing ball of b.s. that has buried all things New England in the last year.
Every assinine assertion about how the Patriots are "Cheaters" is made in the shadow of whole games thrown, in one interpretation, or parts of games or whole games played differently, in another interpretation. And the fact is, the Patriots played to win
every game.
Have we ever rested our starters? Yes. Have we ever had "an arrangement" with an opposing coach, regarding game tactics? Not to my knowledge.
I believe that was the actual statement, that the coaches had "an arrangement." This could be interpreted as the Colts throwing the game, but the more generous read is "we agreed with the Titans not to play hard for unlikely outcomes, so we would not injure our guys."
As a Pats fan, it is the hypocrisy that bugs me. If you substitute "Belichick" for "Dungy," the whole country would be up in arms yelling about what cheaters the Pats are. Same with Mangina's use of video last season against the Pats.
What's galling is that the ball has started rolling, and it does not respond to any semblance of logic or reasoned debate. And what's interesting is that I've heard lately from other fans, or seen on other boards, how "only the Patriots" really care what other fans think. So now the Pats are also "targets" for giving a damn about integrity or the perception thereof.
So: that's why nobody else gets what was once the customary "free pass" in Pats territory anymore. What Dungy did, common though it may be, affected that game orders of magnitude above what the Pats' filming practices would do to affect it.
That's why we're pissed.
And if last (regular) season has not really driven home the point yet, you won't like us angry
PFnV
