Wednesday, December 12, 2007

THE PATS CHEATED-GET OVER IT

Jim Taricani

Once again, in this morning’s edition of the Providence Journal, there is another article that seems to gloss over the fact that the New England Patriots cheated.
One of the lines in the story, “ some people still continue to bash the Pat’s” says it all. They DID cheat, and coach Bill Belichick directed the cheating. The Pat’s so-far perfect record has network announcers fauning all over the team and the coach, and the fans just can’t bring themselves to admit that what Belichick did is not all that different than what Barry Bonds did.
If other teams did it-the video taping of opponents signals-it doesn’t justify what the Pat’s did. There’s no doubt the Patriot’s are a fantastic team. And it certainaly seems that they would have won that first game against the Jets without cheating-which of course makes it all the more ridiculous to resort to cheating.
But we should not forget what Belichick did. He cheated, he set a poor example for young people to follow, and he should not be treated or talked about like he is the reincarnation of Vince Lombardi.
If the Pat’s go undefeated and walk away with another Super Bowl win, good for them. But there needs to be an asterisk aside their record.
Sports fans need to realize there IS something more important than winning-it’s winning honestly.
Because of Belichick’s thirst for victory, this Patriot’s team will forever have a cloud over it, not matter how many records the team breaks.
The cheating soured the outstanding play of so many of the players.
Belichick received a stiff fine and has to forfeit some draft choices.
Big deal.
If he wins the Super Bowl, he should not take his ring.
Super Bowl rings are for winners.
He’s a loser.