Patriots and Legacies

It seems almost imminent this year that the Patriots could become the first team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins go undefeated on the season. This would be quite a feat, since many sports fans weren't even sure if they were better than the reigning champion Indianapolis Colts, lead by the only man to advertise more products than Suzanne Somers, Peyton Manning. This leap in skill was accomplished through the signings of the best offensive free agent (Randy Moss) and the best defensive free agent (Adalius Thomas.) I'm rooting for the Patriots to do it. Not because I'm a Patriots fan (although Tom Brady went to a neighboring High School from mine,) but rather because I want to see the nation's reaction to it.

For those not in the know, Bill Belichick (the Patriots' coach) and the Patriots were fined earlier this year for Illegal Sideline Videotaping. What happened was that one of the Patriots' video assistants was caught taking video tapes of the New York Jets' defensive signals. Belichick was fined the league maximum of $500,000 and the Patriots were fined an additional $250,000 and a first round draft pick next year. There was a plethora of controversy about it, and has caused a lot of sneering and jeering towards the Patriots from the rest of the football fans.

Some critics have bounced back from this and said that this justifies the Patriots in a way. It's as if now the accusations are moot, since they're a dominating team without the videotaping. Almost like the Patriots are re-proving themselves to the world after being cast out. There's also talk that this season should be given a proverbial asterisk (much like the famed Barry Bonds asterisk) saying that they were under accusations for cheating for the year. It's a very similar argument, except there's that the Patriots were actually charged and fined, but (as of this writing) there isn't proof that Barry was juiced.

I'm personally under the opinion that the season needs to be forever remembered with the fine imposed. Belichick admitted to the case (although saying he misinterpreted the rules, and never actually used said videotape to an advantage.) What this means is that the season should be noted for its superiority, and the Patriots should be acknowledged for being a dominant team. That said, I think the fans need to be aware that they were fined for cheating, and that should be taken into consideration. This isn't meant to say that the team is a bunch of no talent hacks who cheated their way into the books, but rather that it is possible that underhanded means were used.

There's no way to literally "asterisk" this accomplishment in my opinion, since it's not as if the Football Hall of Fame will recognize a single season's team as entering the Hall of Fame, as Barry Bonds would be for breaking the record. Rather, I think that this season should be taken with a grain of salt amidst the controversy. The Patriots are a great football team, probably one of the best, but there may be a darker side to them.

Of course, this is all speculation, and the issue may not even come up if they lose a game. But regardless, it should be interesting to see this unravel about the same time that the Barry Bonds trial gets underway.