#DeflateGate (Court of Appeals Reinstates Suspension)

[Donoghus]

Left Somerville for Chicago in '09.  Its amazing how gentrified/pricey Somerville has become since I left.

[kozlodoev]

I used to live in cambridge, but moved to Brookline because it was cheaper.

If you had told me when I was in high school in Arlington that Brookline would be cheaper than Cambridge and Somerville after I graduated college I would have thought you were crazy. Now it is the undisputed truth (at least for rentals)

Probably more expensive if you're trying to buy, too -- just a different type of housing stock.

[Forza Juventus]

New England Patriots supporters seem to have a complex and are very defensive of criticism of their team. I sympathize with Patriots supporters because we Juve supporters are the same way. Patriots criticism seems to feel personal to their supporters in the same way criticism of Juve seems personal to us.

That's not just Pats fans.  That's Boston sports fans.  Maybe it's a Puritan thing.  Who knows.

I do see the parallels of calciopoli and the patriots scandals tho

http://m.goal.com/s/en/news/1717/editorial/2010/04/09/1870791/calciopoli-debate-it-is-about-time-juventus-questioned-why?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

http://m.goal.com/s/en/news/1717/editorial/2011/06/17/2535702/revealed-the-calciopoli-evidence-that-shows-luciano-moggi-is-the-

[kozlodoev]

Left Somerville for Chicago in '09.  Its amazing how gentrified/pricey Somerville has become since I left.

It's too bad that the school system hasn't caught up yet. I'd hate to have to move when Jr. is old enough for school.

[D.o.s.]

However I have no doubt that the Patriots fans will store this as yet another arrow in their largely-imagined "everyone in the NFL hates us because we're sooooooo goooooood" quiver. That is a certainty.

Largely imagined?  That went out the window around midnight after the AFC championship game, when the league, three rival teams and a law firm paid 5 million dollars engaged in a witch hunt, sting operation to stain the reputation of the greatest QB of all time and the best franchise of the current millennium.

Largely imagined. The entire deflategate debacle had/has much less to do with anything to do with The Patriots (although, as Donoghus has said throughout, the fact that they're a very well known franchise certainly escalated it) and much more to do with the national front office reeling from a series of PR blunders and circling in on an opportunity for the commissioner to reassert his authority on something that a child couldn't screw up.

The fact that he screwed it up is, of course, a whole lot of fun.

In order to get the public support behind the NFL again they needed to pick a target that was largely hated among football fans. While I agree that the NFL was trying to reassert its authority, there is no other team in the league that the NFL could attack and have it be a pr win.

It is not largely imagined, the hate is real. In fact, the hate for the Patriots is what made this a viable PR strategy to begin with. Other teams have been fined for cheating but the Patriots are the only team that consistently gets tabbed as cheaters by the general public.

I don't think this is true -- you could have picked any massively successful franchise and done something similar: Seattle would be the most obvious example -- but I do think that the Pats history of rule-skirting did them no favors in this instance.

If in the last 4 years the Patriots had 7 players disciplined for PED do you think people would be talking about it? That is the case with the Seahawks and yet we hear nothing about it.
http://yourteamcheats.com/SEA

I'm sure all the teams in Seattle's division hate the Seahawks, but there is no way the hate for the Seahawks comes close to the hate for the Patriots.

Turn on any tv station there is and you will see players who have been beaten by the Patriots taking every opportunity to speak ill of them, this simply isn't true of other teams.

I think that you, as a Patriots fan, are much more inclined to seek out comments pertaining to the Patriots than the Seahawks -- who have received a mountain of criticism (usually of the call in radio show variety) about their various PED suspensions.

Not sure I am inclined to seek it out but I sure am more cognizant of people saying negative things about the Patriots than other teams. That however, doesn't mean that the Patriots aren't the most hated team in the league (if it's not the Pats then I'm not sure who is).

My opinion that there are a lot of anti Patriots sentiment really stems from going to BC, where about half the people are from out of state and pretty much all those people rooted against the Pats. It didn't matter what team those BC students were a fan of, they all hated the Patriots and weren't shy about letting me know it.

Now that is all just my opinion. It is a fact that anytime there is a negative story about the Pats, the people you see on TV discussing it are ex players, coaches and gms that lost to the Patriots. You simply do not see the same unanimous hate from former NFL people for other teams.

As an aside: I'm not sure who I hated more when I lived in Boston -- BC fans or Red Sox fans. There's a special kind of hell that exists on the green line when the Sox are playing and the students are back in school. 

If you are seeing BC students because you are taking the B line then it is your fault for taking the slowest of the green line routes.

I just moved to Beacon street and I am starting to hate the Red Sox fans that are slowing my commute.

No easier way to get to the Paradise, unfortunately. Particularly if you're, you know, under the influence. But yeah, I haven't lived in Cambridge in years: I can't imagine it's any cheaper now. Had a few friends that rented a house in Brookline -- also not cheap.

Also, I do not approve of the Paradise's new(ish, idk when it started) beer pricing. $5 for a tall boy of the cheap stuff is brutal.

[Vermont Green]

As an aside: I'm not sure who I hated more when I lived in Boston -- BC fans or Red Sox fans. There's a special kind of hell that exists on the green line when the Sox are playing and the students are back in school. 

Aren't you making the point that you argued against by saying this?  Yes, Boston sports fan are a little annoying to the outside world and especially when the team of choice (recently the Patriots) are on a winning streak.  But isn't this exactly why non-Pats fans reveled in the glow of what appeared initially to be a successful sting operation against them?

I am not sure if this perception affected Goodell but it does appear plausible that it did (in the case of certain Jets alumni) influence some in the decision chain, which impacted Goodell indirectly.

I used to live in Northwest Vermont where there are about as many Yankees and Giants fans as there are Red Sox and Patriots fan.  I don't hate the Giants like I do the Yankees but there is no doubt that I would experience Schadenfreude http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schadenfreude if this had happened to the Yankees much as I believe many fans felt this when it looked like the Pats had been caught.  I have heard it first hand from friends across the country and I don't think it is imagined or exaggerated.

[D.o.s.]

Hey, I used to live in Northwestern(ish) Vermont! Well aware of the weird sports division in those parts, one of my old bosses was a die hard Giants fan.

My point was specifically about riding the B line when it gets mobbed with Red Sox fans and BC students, typically in various states of alcoholic impairment and exercising extreme volume in the tight confines of, well, the B line. Nothing to do with their teams.

(Fwiw:I'm a Red Sox fan, I don't have anything for or against BC.)

[Evantime34]

As an aside: I'm not sure who I hated more when I lived in Boston -- BC fans or Red Sox fans. There's a special kind of hell that exists on the green line when the Sox are playing and the students are back in school. 

Aren't you making the point that you argued against by saying this?  Yes, Boston sports fan are a little annoying to the outside world and especially when the team of choice (recently the Patriots) are on a winning streak.  But isn't this exactly why non-Pats fans reveled in the glow of what appeared initially to be a successful sting operation against them?

I am not sure if this perception affected Goodell but it does appear plausible that it did (in the case of certain Jets alumni) influence some in the decision chain, which impacted Goodell indirectly.

I used to live in Northwest Vermont where there are about as many Yankees and Giants fans as there are Red Sox and Patriots fan.  I don't hate the Giants like I do the Yankees but there is no doubt that I would experience Schadenfreude http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schadenfreude if this had happened to the Yankees much as I believe many fans felt this when it looked like the Pats had been caught.  I have heard it first hand from friends across the country and I don't think it is imagined or exaggerated.

Wow. TP for bringing the thread back on topic after we got side tracked discussing commutes and rental prices.

Although I don't really see the connection, he isn't saying anything bad about the Sox fans or BC students other than they make his commute much worse.

[kozlodoev]

As an aside: I'm not sure who I hated more when I lived in Boston -- BC fans or Red Sox fans. There's a special kind of hell that exists on the green line when the Sox are playing and the students are back in school. 

Aren't you making the point that you argued against by saying this?  Yes, Boston sports fan are a little annoying to the outside world and especially when the team of choice (recently the Patriots) are on a winning streak.  But isn't this exactly why non-Pats fans reveled in the glow of what appeared initially to be a successful sting operation against them?

I am not sure if this perception affected Goodell but it does appear plausible that it did (in the case of certain Jets alumni) influence some in the decision chain, which impacted Goodell indirectly.

I used to live in Northwest Vermont where there are about as many Yankees and Giants fans as there are Red Sox and Patriots fan.  I don't hate the Giants like I do the Yankees but there is no doubt that I would experience Schadenfreude http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schadenfreude if this had happened to the Yankees much as I believe many fans felt this when it looked like the Pats had been caught.  I have heard it first hand from friends across the country and I don't think it is imagined or exaggerated.

Wow. TP for bringing the thread back on topic after we got side tracked discussing commutes and rental prices.

Although I don't really see the connection, he isn't saying anything bad about the Sox fans or BC students other than they make his commute much worse.

Come on, talking about Boston area rentals was WAY more fun and you know it. 

[colincb]

[D.o.s.]

HAhaahahahahaha


Twitter doesn't like to show up:
http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CN_fj3eWgAEWGiU.jpg

[Ilikesports17]

However I have no doubt that the Patriots fans will store this as yet another arrow in their largely-imagined "everyone in the NFL hates us because we're sooooooo goooooood" quiver. That is a certainty.

Tons of people hate Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and all the dominant soccer clubs. why? because they always win.

I hate all the english clubs because they have more money than the other leagues and it's largely undeserved, not because they always win, which they don't. Even mid table clubs are loaded because of their tv deal. I hate Barcelona because they are treated differently than all other clubs when they act shady. I don't hate Real Madrid but I don't like the way they treat their players.

but in conclusion you hate or dislike every single team I listed. I mean ive convinced myself I hate lebron cus hes a prima donna and Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.es about calls when he gets them 100% of the time etc etc but lets face it I probably just hate Lebron because he is absolutely dominant.

I guess  Bayern would be the best example against my claim, but other than them I really cant think of any long time dominant club that people dont hate pretty widely

[Cman]

However I have no doubt that the Patriots fans will store this as yet another arrow in their largely-imagined "everyone in the NFL hates us because we're sooooooo goooooood" quiver. That is a certainty.

Largely imagined?  That went out the window around midnight after the AFC championship game, when the league, three rival teams and a law firm paid 5 million dollars engaged in a witch hunt, sting operation to stain the reputation of the greatest QB of all time and the best franchise of the current millennium.

Largely imagined. The entire deflategate debacle had/has much less to do with anything to do with The Patriots (although, as Donoghus has said throughout, the fact that they're a very well known franchise certainly escalated it) and much more to do with the national front office reeling from a series of PR blunders and circling in on an opportunity for the commissioner to reassert his authority on something that a child couldn't screw up.

The fact that he screwed it up is, of course, a whole lot of fun.

In order to get the public support behind the NFL again they needed to pick a target that was largely hated among football fans. While I agree that the NFL was trying to reassert its authority, there is no other team in the league that the NFL could attack and have it be a pr win.

It is not largely imagined, the hate is real. In fact, the hate for the Patriots is what made this a viable PR strategy to begin with. Other teams have been fined for cheating but the Patriots are the only team that consistently gets tabbed as cheaters by the general public.

I don't think this is true -- you could have picked any massively successful franchise and done something similar: Seattle would be the most obvious example -- but I do think that the Pats history of rule-skirting did them no favors in this instance.

If in the last 4 years the Patriots had 7 players disciplined for PED do you think people would be talking about it? That is the case with the Seahawks and yet we hear nothing about it.
http://yourteamcheats.com/SEA

I'm sure all the teams in Seattle's division hate the Seahawks, but there is no way the hate for the Seahawks comes close to the hate for the Patriots.

Turn on any tv station there is and you will see players who have been beaten by the Patriots taking every opportunity to speak ill of them, this simply isn't true of other teams.

I think that you, as a Patriots fan, are much more inclined to seek out comments pertaining to the Patriots than the Seahawks -- who have received a mountain of criticism (usually of the call in radio show variety) about their various PED suspensions.

Did the Seahawk stuff lead the network news when it happened?  What happened in the past 9 months or so is on a whole different level, IMO.

Sure, some of this is obviously paranoia coming from Pats fans and the regionally instilled from birth mentality of "us against the world" but let's not kid ourselves that the Patriots are the NFL team with the biggest target on their back at the moment.

And if social media/24 hours news cycle existed back then, the same thing would've been happening to the Steelers or the '70s or the Niners of the '80s.  The Cowboys certainly were garnering much of the attention in the 1990s (although much of that was self-inflicted).

The Seahawks stuff definitely made national news when it happened. I agree that the last 9 months have been totally absurd, but I also think that it would have been the same sort of circus had it been, say, Seattle or San Fran or Denver, assuming the same actions by the team and the league.

It would have been a circus, but not the same circus. The Patriots recent history with Spygate and whatever else make them a pretty big target - bigger arguably than any other team. So many people hate Bill Belichick. So many people hate Tom Brady. It just all fit together in a nice, neat narrative and moreover the timing was perfect - something for NFL starved people to talk about after the SuperBowl but before the Draft, then after the Draft but before Regular Season.

[Forza Juventus]

However I have no doubt that the Patriots fans will store this as yet another arrow in their largely-imagined "everyone in the NFL hates us because we're sooooooo goooooood" quiver. That is a certainty.

Tons of people hate Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and all the dominant soccer clubs. why? because they always win.

I hate all the english clubs because they have more money than the other leagues and it's largely undeserved, not because they always win, which they don't. Even mid table clubs are loaded because of their tv deal. I hate Barcelona because they are treated differently than all other clubs when they act shady. I don't hate Real Madrid but I don't like the way they treat their players.

but in conclusion you hate or dislike every single team I listed. I mean ive convinced myself I hate lebron cus hes a prima donna and ****es about calls when he gets them 100% of the time etc etc but lets face it I probably just hate Lebron because he is absolutely dominant.

I guess  Bayern would be the best example against my claim, but other than them I really cant think of any long time dominant club that people dont hate pretty widely

The english clubs you listed are the big clubs in england but they do not dominate Europe. Their domestic success has nothing to do with whether I hate them, I'm not a premier league fan so them winning their domestic league has no affect on me or my club. They are strong clubs in Europe but do not dominate, nobody really dominates Europe but I would say the three biggest clubs are Barcelona and Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. I would say the second tier is in no particular order Juve, PSG, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City.

I gave my reasons why I hate or dislike certain clubs, success is not a reason for me hating anyone, I'm not threatened by any of them lol

[colincb]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/09/03/falcons-owner-says-it-might-be-time-to-look-at-commissioners-power/

“I would have rather seen it end with a positive ruling for the NFL,” Blank said. “I understand why the commissioner and the league feel as strongly as it does about trying to protect the rights that for decades have been collectively bargained. I think that is important.

“I don’t think they should be re-bargained in a federal court. Having said that, I think the commissioner and the ownership around the league have to be prepared to look at things, look at change and change may be appropriate.”