Here's something I don't get. Why is it illegal to film another team's sideline during a game? There are dozens of cameras filming. It's on national television. Over 60k people are watching. Coaches get access to all sorts of game footage, like the All 22 stuff we see on YT, which will necessarily include sidelines. During a practice or a workout I can totally see the problem. There can't be any expectation of privacy during a game, though. And do all visual representations count? Can you hire a courtroom sketch artist to crank out drawings of the sideline? What if a guy with binoculars just takes really detailed notes? What about hiring people to do descriptive audio like they do for movies?
I don't have a good answer for those questions, but considering the reputation they have already, this is a really bad look for the Patriots organization as a whole.
Do I think that every team will do whatever it can to gain a competitive advantage, even if that means crossing the line between what's allowed and what's not? Absolutely. NFL history is loaded with examples of teams that have done it.
"Other teams do stuff, too, but the focus is only on the Patriots because people are haters" seems to be the narrative some love to spin, but I don't think it's that simple. They often seem to go past the line far more than most other teams.
And, like it or not, stuff like this is why some will never call either Brady or Belichick the GOAT. Aside from a tiny amount of irrational (legit) haters, most don't think either is great because of cheating, but it's hard to not wonder if spying or cheating or whatever you want to call it, had a hand in more than just a few of those Super Bowl titles (all of which were narrow wins, so you could argue that a little extra cheating made just enough different to affect the outcomes).
Given that I understand I have a different view of "rules"*, I think this is all just describing interpretive behavior that exists in all facets of American life these days. Mike Portnoy said it, therefore he MUST be bitter, regretting his decision, and busting LaBries's balls. Trump MUST be guilty, because, well, Trump. A big corporation filed a lawsuit? Who are they trying to screw over now!?! The Patriots won again? They MUST be cheating!
The facts are still the facts, at the end of the day. The ball has to be snapped, thrown, and caught, the ball has to be snapped, handed off and ran, the ball has to be snapped, held and kicked. No film changes that, no air pump changes that, no sideline spies change that.
* I think "rules" establish the lines at which there are consequences, that's all. If you are willing to endure the consequences, or if the consequences are less of a price than you're feeling you're gaining from the rule breaking, you're obligated to break them, with the only morals being those where someone gets hurt or injured.
Topic: 2019 NFL Thread v. Chiefs are Champs, Missouri rules the sports world (Read 127793 times)