The New England Cheetahs

(Sorry, I'm keeping the title.)

So far I’ve heard it called “Cameragate,” “Spygate,” “Videogate.” It’s all speculation now—nothing has been proven—but New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick did offer an apology yesterday “to everyone who has been affected” by his “interpretation of the rules.” A vague apology at best, with no clear admission of guilt, but the sports world has certainly addressed the hot topic of the Patriots being caught illegally videotaping the Jets play signals.

I’m not a Patriots fan. I skirted fandom when Drew Bledsoe was their quarterback (but only after Buffalo was totally out, of course), but with the departure of Drew my apathy toward Bill Belichick changed to dislike. Besides my distaste for Bill’s disrespectful sideline attire (he looks like he just woke up, and not in the hot Colin Farrell way), I in spite of myself respected his decision making and coaching abilities, even if he was wearing sloppy gray sweatpants. Perhaps his talent is the root of my dislike, since the Patriots are the Bills’ AFC East conference mates and we more often than not lose to them.

In the past couple years opposing teams have been amazed by the Patriots and the quarterback Tom Brady’s ability to read the defense and defy it. Players and fans alike have been astounded by New England’s superb play calling. Belichick has been called “genius.” The Patriots did their homework and were a worthy adversary.

Fortunately, unlike war and love, not all is fair. The NFL has rules, and is a strong proponent of “equal opportunity.” The salary cap, the draft process, the constant drug testing, all attempt to give each team and equal chance every season to make the Super Bowl. New England, like Dallas before them, has been so celebrated because winning a Super Bowl more than one year in a row is a difficult accomplishment (as is winning the AFC championship four years in a row, going to the Super Bowl four years in a row, but I digress). It’s more often the case that the team who won the Super Bowl the year before doesn’t even make the playoffs the year after. And in the NFL, you are not allowed to set up a spy camera on the opposite team's sidelines.

Unfortunately, the NFL has had a rough beginning to the season: the suspensions of Michael Vick, Pacman Jones, the Patriot’s own Rodney Harrison, Wade Wilson, etc. And the Bills lost their first game by one point (but on a happier note Kevin Everett’s doctors are convinced he’ll walk again). Now all-star coach Bill Belichick is caught cheating. Has he been doing it all along? What kind of anger will mount if this is the case?

How do you defend this? As a fan, how do you react to this?

Confusion and disappointment? This article is especially interesting since the writer points out that current Jets coach Eric Mangini was a former protégé of Belichick, a member of his inner circle, so who better to know Belichick’s tricks? Coincidence?

Shock? This one is especially important to read since the title, "A Big Fumble," is a sports metaphor.

One writer offers that Bill is the only one who has been caught. So goes the theory that he's the smartest coach in the league.

Here is an article that has compiled the opinions of many sports writers.

Tony Dungy, longtime Belichick rival, is currently mum on the topic. He’s a classy guy.

Even if the cheating can be proved for only this one time, won’t we always wonder? It’s unfortunate—and by unfortunate I mean stupid—for the Patriots if they truly have spied this one time, because we always will wonder. They’ve now tainted all they’ve earned.

I wonder how much the players knew.