While the Patriots’ defense was the key to their championship, the NFL instead gives the MVP award to overrated pretty boy QB Tom Brady, establishing his future status as an NFL marketing token.

My Verdict: To say that the Patriots won solely because of help from the NFL is a far catch. This theory is mostly a bunch of lies from bitter Patriot-haters.

The NFL wouldn't risk harming the integrity of their highly lucrative game by using helium footballs and bribing players just to ensure that a team with a desirable nickname would win the Super Bowl.

However, favorable officiating is always a realistic possibility.

First off, the helium-filled football idea is completely ludicrous. Adam Vinatieri is the greatest placekicker of all time and has consistently made clutch kicks throughout his many years in the NFL (and anyway, an episode of the show Mythbusters showed that helium-filled footballs don’t travel any farther than air-filled ones).

While the “tuck rule” was quite suspicious, Adam Vinatieri still had to make an almost impossible kick to send the game into overtime, and then another one to win the game. The Raiders had plenty of opportunities to prevent that from happening. The Raiders' loss can’t be blamed solely on the officials.

I did notice many Patriot-friendly calls in Super Bowl XXXVIII. But, none that could have seriously changed the complexion of the game, especially in the Patriots’ final breathtaking drive.

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