Talk about condoning what you don't condone? You've got to be kidding!
I think I can have it both ways. Not every snowball thrown (perhaps a very small percentage) will actually cause injury to its victim. Therefore I believe it's reasonable to want Mangini to get hit by a snowball and not be injured - which is a lot different than, say, wanting to nuke someone but have no deaths.
Condemning the person who committed the crime, in my eyes, is different than condemning the actual crime itself. Throwing a snowball onto the field is illegal. Committing an illegal act in plain view is stupid. But if one of the snowballs found its way to Mangini (not injuring him), I can't say I will bury my head in my hands in remorse.
"one step to make the Mangina remember what he did," you've got to be kidding!
While Mangini is destined for a brief career as a HC for several reasons, it's a simple fact that if the camera were not used on the sidelines at the Meadowlands by the Patriots on September 9, this discussion would not be taking place. Then, to use that rule violation as a reasonable excuse for unacceptable acts by nitwit fans is completely irrational.
And if the Patriots actually confiscated the Jets' camera last season and turned it in, this discussion, well, would be taking place, but in a different manner.
Don't be that naive to think the Jets weren't doing EXACTLY what the Pats were doing. I wouldn't even be surprised if it was happening the same game the Pats were caught. However, it appears the Jets did not have the same interpretation of the mandate as the Pats did, so the Jets didn't toss one of their guys out on the sideline with a video camera plainly pointed at the opposing coaches. Believe me, the Pats aren't that stupid - they weren't intimidated by the rule and found what they thought was a loophole they could successfully exploit (that or just plain out thought the rule didn't apply to their situation). They weren't able to do so, but that's a whole other story.
As
I explained the week of the incident, there is a considerable amount of "illegal" gamesmanship in the NFL. Collusion, tampering, this type of videotaping and "spying," and as we found out a month ago, non-contract performance incentives. Mangini took it a step beyond in doing what he did. And whether he intended it to or not (he should of considering the Pats' success and assumed spotlessness), the story grew bigger than any other had in the past, branding everyone associated with the organization with an asterisk. And in the process, lost the trust of every other NFL organization. We've seen it a few times now since then. The Colts' crowd noise. The Jets' taping from last year. I know I'm forgetting others. Every organization has their own styles of previously unenforced gamesmanship, and Mangini (and Goodell) set the precedent. Now it must be followed.
The fact of the matter is Belichick's behavior. We all know Belichick will do anything possible to prevent a story from being molded from nothing - "it is what it is." He always goes out of his way to heap praise on the opposing team, preventing them from using any of his words as motivating factors.
So when Belichick REFUSES to name Mangini by name, locks him out of Gillette for good, and makes a headline out of his disingenuous handshakes, don't you think there is SOME point he was trying to make out of the whole deal?
Or, maybe I'm making way to much out of this, but when Stacey James is on the phone Sunday morning on WCVB and specifically tells Patriots fans to "save their energy for when
Eric Mangini and the New York Jets come out of the tunnel today."
Mangini is SEVERELY disliked around Foxboro for something. And you simply cannot convince me otherwise.
