Ok...
You want the truth... You can't handle the truth...
Sound familiar?
I can compare Bill Billechick to Jack Nicolsons charactor in a few good men....
"Belichick is sitting there, and you know he is getting peeved that he is even in there -- the audacity to bring him in and question him," "The visual I have is that eventually Belichick kind of snapped and said, 'You're darn right I did.' "
To me, its F-ing funny on one hand... the big dawg being brought down by the little guy. The very demeanor of Bill Billechick is so much of a joke to me now, thinking he is so much better than everyone else.. thinking he is above reproach, or above being punished for doing whatever he wants...
In a statement issued two hours after the punishment was announced, Belichick said he misinterpreted the league's rules but acknowledged that "part of my job as head coach is to ensure that our football operations are conducted in compliance of the league rules and all accepted interpretations of them." It sounded almost like the kid admiting to the teacher he cheated on an exam... almost like he would have rather been in a dentists chair having his teeth pulled... the words were FORCED out of his mouth.
"I accept full responsibility for the actions that led to tonight's ruling," the statement said. "Once again, I apologize to the Kraft family and every person directly or indirectly associated with the New England Patriots for the embarrassment, distraction and penalty my mistake caused. I also apologize to Patriots fans and would like to thank them for their support during the past few days and throughout my career."
Support in the face of being BUSTED cheating... Patriot fans are anything but fair weather fans... they are loyal as German Sheppards, they love their coach, and rightly so, he won them 3 superbowls when the team had lost all 3 other appearances under different coaches, so they have loyalty.
The thing I don't understand is the misplaced animosity that somehow they shouldn't have been punished for cheating because in the words of most Patriot fans, "everybody is cheating in the NFL."
This statement is just the asperin that the Patriot fans are trying to take to get rid of the "spygate" headache.. They know their coach has been a rule breaker since 2000 or possibly even before... However, instead of feeling like the guy ruined the name of the New England Patriots by cheating, they love the guy, and try to deflect the attention to ANY other team who may have been accused in the past.
Its really kinda pathetic to hear the statemtents made by Patriots fans.. The entire NFL is cheating because their coach got caught, we are all stupid because we believe our teams don't cheat, and Billechick didn't cheat, he just misinterpreted the rule...
Grasping at reasons to excuse his act if dishonesty...
"This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field," the commissioner wrote in a letter to the team, which was later forwarded to all teams.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft issued a statement in return.
"I believe that Coach Belichick always tries to do what is best for the team and he is always accountable for his decisions,'' Kraft said. "He has been a very important part of what our organization has accomplished over the last seven years. In this case, one of his decisions has resulted in a severe penalty for our franchise. He has paid a heavy price and so has our organization. He has apologized for his actions. I accept his apology and look forward to working with him as we move forward."
To me this is just a man trying to give another man a chance to redeem himself. It is NOT an excuse for him, or an acceptance of what he did as being ok, or commonplace in the NFL as some fans would like us to believe.
Ego's are a funny thing, they lead you down paths sometimes that we shouldn't travel. Like looking stupid by trying to explain or make excuses for wrong doing.
Just accept what happened, and move on. To try and say that the Bronco's cheated, or the Colts cheated, or that other coaches said that they use to videotape, just deal with the fact that TODAY, we are NOT SUPPOSED TO CHEAT IN THE NFL... meaning breaking the rules is "against the rules." .... for anyone who needs to have that explained to them... (patriot fans)
Its almost comical to me to hear the excuses, and hear the Patriots fans grasp at any allegation towards another team, no matter how old, and try and use it as an example of how "everyone cheats."
As one coach with Integrity and respect for the game said....
"It's really, a sad day for the NFL," Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy said. "It's another case of the 99 percent good things that are happening being overshadowed by 1 percent bad. Again, people aren't talking about our product, they're talking about a negative incident."
Meaning that people aren't talking about Football, they are talking about Cheating, and cheaters, which no matter how badly the Patriots fans want it changed, Bill Billechick is now one of the "cheating" coaches... His legacy will FOREVER be linked to Spygate, and people are going to FOREVER be giving their opinion about it.
Which is what I want from anyone who is reading this blog.
This is NOT supposed to be a Patriot bashing blog, I really want people to talk about the issue of cheating, and let your opinion be heard.
Is is ok to bend or break the rules in your opinion, and if you get caught, is it ok to point fingers at other people who may have been doing the same thing but didn't get caught?