# New England Patriots



## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

If you can't trust your own balls, then whose? :watching:


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

The problem is these other people obsessing about your balls.


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## Gruesome (Apr 30, 2013)

DEATH AND ETERNAL DAMNATION TO THE CHEATRIOTS AND THE DEVIL HIMSELF BILL BELLICHEAT!

Ahem....sorry....Colts fan here. That just kind of erupts out of me sometimes. Sort of a Tourettes thing.

Obviously the condition of the footballs had nothing to do with that blowout of a game, so any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous. 

I think the larger issue is cheating, and how much is OK. That issue is endless.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

The level that these guys play at should never be compromised by anything less than 100% honest play. 

If you don't hold them and the industry / league accountable, it will only get worse. You can fine them monetarily, but that only goes so far. They have $$'s coming out their ears. 

You pull them out of a Super Bowl and that holds water for a very long time to come. Anything less is just lip service.


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## rustygun (Apr 8, 2013)

Complete lack of integrity. I have about had it with pro football. College games much better, of course it helps that I am a lifelong BUCKEY fan.


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

Complete waste of time.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

"Football" is the one where they carry an egg-shaped thing around in their hands, right?


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

SailDesign said:


> "Football" is the one where they carry an egg-shaped thing around in their hands, right?


Handball would be a better name for the game.

Oh wait.....there's already a sport using that name.

Okay......so I got nothing.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

paratrooper said:


> Handball would be a better name for the game.
> 
> Oh wait.....there's already a sport using that name.
> 
> Okay......so I got nothing.


Have seen it called HandEgg somewhere. But American Football works. 

A friend (obviously a right-winger) said on FessBook, "A message to everyone buying in on the BS Patriots crap story, look in the mirror and you will see a Obama voter, hook line and sinker." To which the obvious reply was "Of course, the other side of the coin is that if you think cheating to win is OK, you must have been a Bush voter..."

Some folks take this stuff entirely too seriously. That would be football AND politics.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

SailDesign said:


> Have seen it called HandEgg somewhere. But American Football works.
> 
> A friend (obviously a right-winger) said on FessBook, "A message to everyone buying in on the BS Patriots crap story, look in the mirror and you will see a Obama voter, hook line and sinker." To which the obvious reply was "Of course, the other side of the coin is that if you think cheating to win is OK, you must have been a Bush voter..."
> 
> Some folks take this stuff entirely too seriously. That would be football AND politics.


I can't even believe that someone would even start a thread about something so silly and unimportant. :watching:


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

paratrooper said:


> I can't even believe that someone would even start a thread about something so silly and unimportant. :watching:


Looked in the mirror recently?


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## hud35500 (May 8, 2010)

My balls are always swinging to the left and to the right!!


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## Philco (Apr 17, 2012)

hud35500 said:


> My balls are always swinging to the left and to the right!!


TMI brother TMI


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

SailDesign said:


> Looked in the mirror recently?


I have.....and I still see the same amazing handsome face. :mrgreen:


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

paratrooper said:


> I have.....and I still see the same amazing handsome face. :mrgreen:


Now it is getting really deep. Of course I should have been rich instead of so handsome.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

tony pasley said:


> Now it is getting really deep. Of course I should have been rich instead of so handsome.


When you're as good looking as I am, money is of no consequence.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

rustygun said:


> Complete lack of integrity. I have about had it with pro football. College games much better, of course it helps that I am a lifelong BUCKEY fan.


Isn't that Buckeye? I'm a Wisconsin boy and I am a fan of Bucky Badger.
GW


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## Cait43 (Apr 4, 2013)

Classic YouTube...... :smt046 :smt038


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## rustygun (Apr 8, 2013)

goldwing said:


> Isn't that Buckeye? I'm a Wisconsin boy and I am a fan of Bucky Badger.
> GW


You are 100% correct. Spelling error.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

rustygun said:


> Complete lack of integrity. I have about had it with pro football. College games much better, of course it helps that I am a lifelong BUCKEY fan.


Congrats on the Buckeyes win, I was pushing for Oregon. They didn't wear their green uniforms,lol.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

SailDesign said:


> Have seen it called HandEgg somewhere. But American Football works.
> 
> A friend (obviously a right-winger) said on FessBook, "A message to everyone buying in on the BS Patriots crap story, look in the mirror and you will see a Obama voter, hook line and sinker." To which the obvious reply was "Of course, the other side of the coin is that if you think cheating to win is OK, you must have been a Bush voter..."
> 
> Some folks take this stuff entirely too seriously. That would be football AND politics.


Can you believe they call "Soccer" football in other countries. Unbelievable !


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

hud35500 said:


> My balls are always swinging to the left and to the right!!


You need to have a brief(s) talk and control them boys


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

When a kid's game gets so important to adults that they have lawyers refereeing and doing rule explanations on the broadcast, it has reached a level of absurdity that threatens its existence, in a sane world. 

I was a rabid Cowboys fan for 40 years (1960 to about 2000), but finally 'got my fill' of it. I made one half-hearted effort to care again, but after having a TV sports lawyer explain to me how a pass completion is no longer the same as it had been for decades, without any rule change, I simply refuse to care about professional sports. From now on, I'll leave it to the politicians to piss on my shoes and tell me it's raining, because at least, they are consistent.

Watching my grandsons play Texas junior high school football is intense enough, without getting an ulcer over a bunch of immature men who think they are gods.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

U


Bisley said:


> When a kid's game gets so important to adults that they have lawyers refereeing and doing rule explanations on the broadcast, it has reached a level of absurdity that threatens its existence, in a sane world.
> 
> I was a rabid Cowboys fan for 40 years (1960 to about 2000), but finally 'got my fill' of it. I made one half-hearted effort to care again, but after having a TV sports lawyer explain to me how a pass completion is no longer the same as it had been for decades, without any rule change, I simply refuse to care about professional sports. From now on, I'll leave it to the politicians to piss on my shoes and tell me it's raining, because at least, they are consistent.
> 
> Watching my grandsons play Texas junior high school football is intense enough, without getting an ulcer over a bunch of immature men who think they are gods.


Good point Bisley, I also , have been a Cowboys fan since the ice bowl. I keep trying to shake it off, but the love of the game keeps me crazy, lol. 
Loved Tom Landry, very emotionally mature on the sideline.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

Footballs inflated in a heated equipment room etc. Will lose some psi when introduced to a colder environment. 
Not saying it wasn't intentional, but how would it benefit one team more then the other ?


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## ybnorml (Nov 26, 2014)

pic said:


> Footballs inflated in a heated equipment room etc. Will lose some psi when introduced to a colder environment.
> Not saying it wasn't intentional, but how would it benefit one team more then the other ?


Each team has their own set of balls (12) to use....marked as such by the referee. (And the kicking balls are only used for the kicking game...field goals and kick-offs)


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

ybnorml said:


> Each team has their own set of balls (12) to use....marked as such by the referee. (And the kicking balls are only used for the kicking game...field goals and kick-offs)


That's just all wrong... One ball - if it breaks, then replace it with a spare.

No wonder I gave up caring about sports about 50 years ago.


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

SailDesign said:


> That's just all wrong... One ball - if it breaks, then replace it with a spare.
> 
> No wonder I gave up caring about sports about 50 years ago.


Yeah. The 'To each team its own balls' thing practically reeks of 'Draconian Plot' - only by the league.

[This topic is hot on the *classical music board* I participate in. Who'd of thought it?]


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

ybnorml said:


> Each team has their own set of balls (12) to use....marked as such by the referee. (And the kicking balls are only used for the kicking game...field goals and kick-offs)


I thought game balls were game balls, do you have a source or link? Very interesting


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## ybnorml (Nov 26, 2014)

It's been talked about on ESPN Sports Center and other commentary sports segments....
Each team supplies 12 balls.... the refs check each ball from both teams to confirm they fall inside the NFL specs, then marks / labels
each one for the appropriate team. 2 hours before game time the balls are returned to the teams......

I don't have a specific link for this....but has been discussed many times the past 4 days.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

pic said:


> I thought game balls were game balls, do you have a source or link? Very interesting


Found the link , you're correct.

Some basic understanding of the rules is in order here too. Refs check the balls two hours and 15 minutes before the start of the game. The balls were tested before the game, according to the rules, per Pro Football Talk.

The balls are then placed in a bag and stay under supervision until they are delivered to the sidelines shortly before the start of the game. If the Patriots did intentionally deflate their balls, it would have most likely had to happen amidst the hubbub on their sideline, with cameras and crowds all around the stadium, shortly before kickoff.


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

pic said:


> Found the link , you're correct.
> 
> Some basic understanding of the rules is in order here too. Refs check the balls two hours and 15 minutes before the start of the game. The balls were tested before the game, according to the rules, per Pro Football Talk.
> 
> The balls are then placed in a bag and stay under supervision until they are delivered to the sidelines shortly before the start of the game. If the Patriots did intentionally deflate their balls, it would have most likely had to happen amidst the hubbub on their sideline, with cameras and crowds all around the stadium, shortly before kickoff.


This means *there must be a video on someone's smartphone*. Probably on offer for big money as I type!


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

How about just letting each team inflate their balls however they want? Or letting the league furnish them?

There's always enough controversy without serving it up on a silver platter. And anyway, it was a 30 point margin.


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