Cheaters, Shut Up Already

By BRANDON FINLEY

It seems that everyone in the world of sports today has a big mouth, myself included, but will someone just shut up the four letter network when it comes to "Spygate". We get it. I promise.

From The Sideline

So what, the Patriots did a little camera work. Is anyone out there stupid enough to believe they are the only team out there trying to bend the rules to get an advantage? If so, Holy Jose Canseco Batman. You might as well believe that the MLB has totally ridded itself of steroids.

The fact is that people have been stealing signals in football for ages. When the opposing defensive coordinator puts up four fingers, and the defense audibles into a Cover Four defense; what do you think that means?

It's quite senseless really to keep talking about it. The Patriots have been punished just as any other team would have been for this situation, but it's nothing different than a player juicing on roids. Bill Bilichick is solely responsible. It's not like an entire corporation knew of this involvement.

Do you think the director of player personnel knew this was going on? The likely scenario is no. So why does the NFL keep hammering this into the public arena?

The answer is simple. They are the most creative marketers in the history of sport. The NFL has found a way to keep their sport in the mainstream media all year round. It started years ago as the NFL Draft became a televised spectacle. Then free agency made the NFL's off-season into something just as entertaining in a different way as the game itself.

Now, the NFL has a new way of keeping you hooked. It's called corruption. Anytime anything dysfunctional happens, the NFL keeps it in the forefront. Is there any wonder the two biggest stories running right now have to do with "Spygate" and Chad Johnson's big mouth?

Let's get back to talking about football. This is a thing of the past, and we should already be looking forward to the next season. There are much better questions to ask than if the Patriots got an unfair advantage by video taping. Last I checked a team still has to win the game on the field.

So everyone just shut up already about the incident. It's over. Let's get ready for some football, and let's get ready by answering some of next years' questions.

In addition to being a total sports fan, Brandon Finley is a seasoned sports writer with community newspaper experience. He now brings his syndicated column to North Florida News Daily. Contact Brandon at news@northfloridanewsdaily.com