I'm not American, so you will forgive me if I didn't previously realize that all of America's problems have been solved.
They must be, because otherwise why would a sitting senator be banging the drum to investigate signal stealing in the NFL if there were far more important things to be dealing with.
So in this atmosphere of peace, harmony, and economic prosperity, that has been created in the U.S. (congrats on that by the way), politicians are now free to delve into their own pet causes, which for Sen. Specter appears to be his inability to get over the New England Patriots' 24-21 defeat of his beloved Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Many have tried to make the connection between the congressional investigation into Major League Baseball and the potential Spygate investigation, but the two could not be more different. (Note to the media, old, new, mainstream, web 2.0 and otherwise: can we stop with the "gate" suffix please? Nixon is dead, let's bury his scandals with him)
The MLB steroid-scandal involves an act that is illegal in the U.S., the trafficking of HGH and anabolic steroids. Of course, what is getting most Major Leaguers into trouble is lying to Congress. But the purpose of the investigation is to uncover those who are manufacturing, importing, and selling illegal substances.
Now one can easily make the argument that the MLB steroid hunt is just a publicity stunt by a Congress looking to make a statement, but the bottom line is that a legitimate illegal act is being investigated.
Spygate, however, does not pass the litmus test of illegality.
There is no law against trying to steal signals. Getting an upper hand on your opponent is a well established tradition in any sport, especially those that use hand signals or any other type of communication to set up plays.
Each individual sport is free to enact any policies, guidelines, or punishments they so desire to discourage the stealing of signals, but breaking these rules is not illegal.
The Patriots cheated, no one is denying that. They were punished, and have been publicly humiliated. Their legacy is tarnished and their aura of invincibility shattered.
As hard as it may be to understand, I somehow believe Belichick when he says he didn't think he was breaking the rules. Why else would you put a guy in plain sight on the sidelines, in clearly marked Patriots gear, holding a video camera? Wouldn't you be a little more subtle?
But regardless, Belichick DID cheat, he broke the rules, the punishment was fair and reasonable, but no laws were broken.
That is the major difference between investigating steroids and investigating signal stealing.
So if all the other issues in the U.S. have been wrapped up, I suggest Sen. Specter should nonetheless find a better way to waste taxpayer dollars, perhaps an investigation into the fragility of Donovan McNabb.
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2 months ago
I have yet to understand this line of reasoning.
"There are more important things to deal with"
"Don't waste taxpayers money on the NFL and some harmless cheating"
"What about - Iraq, gas prices, foreclosures, and real problems?"
etc. etc. etc.
No one is saying that an independent investigation would supplant more pressing issues for the government. Believe it or not, he economy will get better or worse independently from Arlen Specter and his thoughts on Spygate.
The anti-trust exemption is reason enough for the government to be interested. This is not the only issue that Specter has dealt with since September. People think that he has because of the extra media attention this story has gotten since February. We can measure the amount of time Specter has spent on Spygate in hours, while he works hundreds of days a year.
I can understand people being sick of hearing about this dark chapter of the Patriots history. I can understand that many fans defend their own team with a large amount of bias and lack of objectivity. What I can't understand is this trend of people thinking that Sen. Specter is spending all of his time and our country's resources on Spygate, when that clearly isn't the case.
Does every problem in existence in our country need to be solved before the government is interested? Shouldn't they be interested in a multi-billion dollar enterprise with an anti-trust exemption (i.e. the NFL) cheating its customers (i.e. the fans)? If McDonald's was cheating its customers in some way, should the government not step in because gas prices are too high or the war in Iraq are more important?
PS - You mentioned that the "Patriots cheated, no one's denying that". If you peruse the articles and comments here on the Bleacher Report, you will find that many, and I mean many, Patriot fans argue that the Patriots never "cheated". They cite technicalities or the lack of competitive advantage. Even Belichick hasn't admitted to cheating. He's only admitted to misinterpretation and making a mistake, but not cheating.
2 months ago
The Patriots won 3 Super Bowls by a field goal. That is, they one 3 Super Bowls by one play. In other words, they were 3 plays away from being the Buffalo Bills, perrenial losers instead of winners. They had an unfair advantage. By winning those Super Bowls instead of losing them, they became one of the most profitable franchises in the NFL. Thy would have made millions and millions less dollars if they were branded losers instead of winners.
2 months ago
There is no evidence of any illegal taping involving any of their Superbowl wins.
NONE.
There is plenty of wild speculation, rumour and outright lies, but no proof.
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