Should Patriots' Super Bowls Have an Asterisk?

by SodaHead Sports Posted 2012/05/02 20:00:00

Related Topics: Sports, John Harbaugh, spygate, bill belichick, Tom Brady, Eric Mangini, Football, NFL, New England Patriots, asterisk, Super Bowl, Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, National Football League, Saints, New York Jets, New York, Coach

Read More

122 votes
Read all 45 opinions
Lightning Report View Results and Demographics + View Demographics

Loading Demographics... Click an icon to see demographic results Display unknown and private
	Yes	62 votes	51%
	No	60 votes	49%

Before the New Orleans Saints hurt the NFL's image with BountyGate, there was the "Gate of all Gates" in 2007: SpyGate. It was revealed back then, after a complaint from then-New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini, that the New England Patriots were revealed to have been spying and video taping other teams' practices since the early 2000s.

Keep in mind, Mangini was on the Patriots' coaching staff during that time. This was largely an afterthought since then, until Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh opened his mouth in a recent interview, saying the Patriots' three Super Bowl titles in the 2000s should have an asterisk next to them. The NFL's investigation in 2007 rocked the league's image and tainted the Pats' three Super Bowl championship titles, but many detractors quickly focused on what went on after that.

That season, the Patriots went undefeated throughout the regular season and playoffs. At least until they ran into the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. As for the Patriots' punishments, well at the time, they were pretty stiff: a $250,000 fine to the Patriots organization and $500,000 to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Those were some of the major punishments that were made public by the NFL.

Were the tapes the NFL found damning enough to think the Patriots gained a considerable advantage? If you're going by recent history, the answer is no, considering Belichick and his team just made it to the Super Bowl this past season. However, we'll never know as the NFL destroyed the tapes. In hindsight, that might not have been the best idea, since even five years later, questions remain unanswered. The Patriots have the talent to win Super Bowls, but how could seeing what your opponent practices not help give you an edge? Was Harbaugh out of line or just saying what everyone else in the NFL is thinking?

Add a comment above

Nik 2012/05/03 18:02:05

No

Only if the Saints get one. And the Vikings are given their rightful NFC title. And Randy Moss comes back. And Brett Favre never breaks. And the Metrodome never collapsed. And Brad Childress was never hired and Mike Tice was never hired and Randy Moss never hit that cop and the loveboat never happened and the Giants never shut us out and Gary Anderson never missed that field goal and we never traded for Hershel Walker.

reply
Freeranger 2012/05/03 17:43:48

No

A question right out of a Jack Ass script. As the rest of the cherries are finding out.......money destroyed true sport......the latest thing to be uncovered is bounty heading from the Saints. My point is that this is just the latest schism. If you think there aren't more things to be discovered, then I got swamp land in Florida for sale. NONE of them are clean. Grow up.

reply
mk, Smartass Oracle 2012/05/03 17:14:28

No

The won their Super Bowls fairly. Case closed.

reply
Sterling 2012/05/03 17:06:37

Yes

Sure they should discourage it and anyone who wins a superbowl should be investigated for it. There would be a lot of asterisks around super bowl wins.

reply
Met 2012/05/03 15:39:21

No

It's human nature to single out the one's who get caught.

Doesn't make it fair.

reply
Jake 2012/05/03 15:37:59

No

They all do it...Pat's just got caught....

reply
brunyon 2012/05/03 15:31:34
JakeJ277 2012/05/03 13:13:19

No

I'm sure they're one of many teams that do this. The only reason they're getting called out for it is because we live in a crab-bucket society. Everyone wants to knock the successful guys down a notch so they can feel just a little bit better about themselves at night.

reply
the judgebigdogeagle 2012/05/03 12:25:17

No

+2
Who says that other teams are not doing the same thiing.

reply
JakeJ277 to the jud... 2012/05/03 13:10:44

+1
Seriously. Its the same thing as catching a racing team "cheating". Even the best auto racers will tell you that half the battle is hiding your modifications from the tech inspectors.

reply
'Zedd to the jud... 2012/05/03 15:08:15
the jud... to 'Zedd 2012/05/03 18:02:03

How can I say it The US has spies and our enemies have spies.Ya just do not want to get caught.

reply
katy.isodo 2012/05/03 11:12:02

No

I doubt it gave them that extreme of an advantage - thought it did provide something. The fines are enough, don't punish an entire team for the complete idiocy of a few.

reply
Chris - The Rowdy One! #187 2012/05/03 10:57:04 (edited)

No

Thanks to ESPN and their tabloid style reporting, as well as SodaHead Sports, this non-issue became a major issue.

I am a Baltimore guy and heard Harbaugh's 98 Rock interview in total and there was nothing wrong with what he said and I agree with it; word for word.

reply
Bunk11 2012/05/03 05:08:10

No

+1
I don't really understand what the Patriots did that was wrong anyway. Stealing signals is part of baseball and it's part of football. Don't want your signals stolen? Let your QB call his own plays as Peyton Manning does and all QBs used to.

Besides there's nothing that has an * next to it, not even in baseball. Otherwise, you could put an * by the Islanders 1980 Stanley Cup (* won because of bad refereeing), not to mention the 1919 World Series, and dozens of other events.

reply
Whyputaname 2012/05/03 04:25:49 (edited)

No

I guess if that was the case then the Jets as well as the Saints and so forth....What is good for the goose is good for the gander......

But Football is NOT Baseball.......

reply
dallasjoe 2012/05/03 03:39:28

Yes

+2
well the Siants also bugged the Visitors coach boxes up stair

reply
M.C 2012/05/03 02:59:36

Yes

they cheated period.......

reply
Sue MacDonald Kyak 2012/05/03 02:42:37

Yes

Hell yeah, those cheating bastards!

reply
Heisenberg 2012/05/03 02:32:14

No

Normally, I'd say yes, but that's already too late. It's happened, and nobody can do anything to change the end results. They lost their last two Super Bowls, so I don't know what the fuss is all about.

reply
spike66 2012/05/03 01:51:07

No

just look at the sidelines of any game, before and after 2007, and look at the coaches as they call the plays....90% of the time u see them cover their mouths...gee y is that i wonder...CUZ EVERY TEAM HAS BEEN STEALING SIGNALS SINCE THE GAME BEGAN...the only thing the pats did wrong was the camera placement...it it was anywhere else other than the sidelines it would have been perfectly acceptable....also, they have what been to 2 superbowls since, and where one game away from a perfect season....time to get over it.

reply
Rock 2012/05/03 01:49:30

Yes

+1
Yes, * denotes best team during the regular season, yet got owned by the Giants, twice in the Superbowl. ** denotes 18-1 record, only loss in the Superbowl. *** denotes, cheaters never win!

reply
Cal 2012/05/03 01:36:52

No

+1
Umm it's the NFL. Espionage between teams has been going on since the game started. They got caught, that's the only exception.

reply
painted desert 2012/05/03 01:36:15

No

+2
They all do it. The Pat's got caught. They paid their fines. Forget it and move on. The Jets did the very same thing four years later.

Profootballtalk.com is reporting that photos of a Jets staff member have been seen on the sidelines during the New York Jets – New England Patriots holding a camera and pointing it towards the Patriots sideline.

The image was seen at the start of the second quarter and appeared briefly.

Profootballtalk references the NFL Game Operations Manuel in that “no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches’ booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game,” and “all video shooting locations must be enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead.”

Occurring more than four years after the Spygate scandal in which the Patriots had their own cameraman on the sidelines for the Jets game, what do the Jets have to say for themselves?

reply
Raymond Allamby 2012/05/02 23:48:06

No

+1
you have the gall to ask this silly question, right after the tragic death of Junior Seau? you are outside your mind.

reply
keliffa 2012/05/02 23:18:23

Yes

+1
HELL YES.

reply
john 2012/05/02 23:14:55

Yes

Screw the Pats. Go Titans!

reply
Superman 2012/05/02 21:07:28

Yes

Absolutely.

Bottom line is that they broke the rules as an organization to gain a competitve edge as far as wins and losses are concerned. Theres no doubt they have a great brand of football and would have been perfectly successful without taping, I don't doubt that at all.

But given the nature of football with 16 game seasons and one and done playoffs how can we know for sure that taping didn't help them gain a game or two in the regular season? How do we know that one of those three very closely contested Super Bowls (particularly 36 where we know taping happened and it was down to the wire) weren't won because of an illegal edge?

The image doesn't help since they've been caught and have lost the two following close Super Bowls they played in. The conclusion could be that they could no longer get that unfair edge and because of that they couldn't convert those games into titles.

I think this is more insidious and more asterisk worthy than steroid use by far.

reply
GettingBarried 2012/05/02 21:00:26

Yes

+1
Their first loss to the NY Giants should have an asterisk. It is the year of the so-called spygate fiasco. They were docked a first round pick and fines were levied against the team in general and Belichick personally. If anyone takes a look at what happened in that game, they would easily question several decisions made by Belichick. A review of the Giants game-winning drive shows there is a glaring clock discrepancy comparing how the clock should have actually run down to how it ran down during the game. The Giants should not have had enough time to score; if one followed the rules. Look over that season and another note of interest is the Patriots were blowing teams out week after week until the Eagles came to town one Monday night. The Patriots won but from that point on, they were not the dominant team from the first half of the season. What also happened that evening? Funny you should ask, the Commissioner gave his ruling and penalties, publicly announcing his decision a few hours before the game regarding 'spygate'.

It is my opinion that Belichick never had to pay his half million dollar fine because he engineered a Super Bowl loss. By having the Patriots accept the penalties and lose the Super Bowl, the league can save face by allowing another team (that the...

Their first loss to the NY Giants should have an asterisk. It is the year of the so-called spygate fiasco. They were docked a first round pick and fines were levied against the team in general and Belichick personally. If anyone takes a look at what happened in that game, they would easily question several decisions made by Belichick. A review of the Giants game-winning drive shows there is a glaring clock discrepancy comparing how the clock should have actually run down to how it ran down during the game. The Giants should not have had enough time to score; if one followed the rules. Look over that season and another note of interest is the Patriots were blowing teams out week after week until the Eagles came to town one Monday night. The Patriots won but from that point on, they were not the dominant team from the first half of the season. What also happened that evening? Funny you should ask, the Commissioner gave his ruling and penalties, publicly announcing his decision a few hours before the game regarding 'spygate'.

It is my opinion that Belichick never had to pay his half million dollar fine because he engineered a Super Bowl loss. By having the Patriots accept the penalties and lose the Super Bowl, the league can save face by allowing another team (that the Patriots throttled earlier in the season) to win instead of the 'tainted' Patriots.

If anyone is bored, have a look at some of this coincidental information and draw your own conclusion. The one question I have about all this is, is there a way to know where the penalty cash went and is there specific documentation of it going there? My guess is no since IMO Belichick never had to pay it off.

Anyhow, there's your conspiracy nutjob theory for the day...enjoy! :)
(more)

reply
Lanikai 2012/05/02 20:52:29 (edited)

Yes

+2
Because we KNOW their clubhouses were bugged and they always seemed to know exactly what the other team was doing, every time. They should be in as much trouble as the NOLA team.

besides, they have Brady, and if you cheat in a relationship, OR COURSE you cheat at work.

reply
Sue Mac... to Lanikai 2012/05/03 02:44:29

+2
Ha ha, love it! Brady is a major douche.

reply
Lanikai to Sue Mac... 2012/05/03 15:25:55

+1
LOL, I despise brady. despise him,.

reply
Sue Mac... to Lanikai 2012/05/08 01:00:46

+1
Oh me too, it surprises me how much I hate that bastard but I just can't help it.

reply
Beat Magnum True Hero 2012/05/02 20:36:45

No

+1
All the alleged spying in the world didin't help them win the Super Bowl in 2008 now did it? The game still has to be played.

reply
keliffa to Beat Ma... 2012/05/02 23:19:58

+1
Gee, knowing what play the other team called before they hike the ball is kinda helpful.

reply
H.E 2012/05/02 20:35:57 (edited)

Yes

+1
Have they won it all sense? I am a huge Tom Brady and Belicek fan too, but facts are facts. They have not won the championship in the post spygate era.

reply
Met to H.E 2012/05/03 15:40:22

neither have a lot of teams, but the pats are still competitive. And with NO defense.

reply
H.E to Met 2012/05/03 21:09:50

Whats your point.

reply
Met to H.E 2012/05/04 05:03:19

I think i made it.

There are a lot of teams who haven't won a championship since spy gate, and the patriots have been a lot more competitive than most of the league.

Are we really supposed to believe that the Patriots and the Saints are the only teams to push the envelope? Or does the NFL just make strong examples of teams who get caught in lieu of launching a league wide investigation?

reply
H.E to Met 2012/05/06 16:16:45

Now you are insinuating that everyone who has won cheats. I am a Pats fan, but the thing that amazes me, is the fact that they can use all of this great ingenuity cultivating ways to be competitive; yet they can't seem to win the most important game that matters. If you look at what they have done sense the spy-gate scandal, I would say it amounts to nothing sans a championship. That is my point. They have not been able to get the job done, period. I don't want to here about everyone else cheating too either, because everyone else does not have 5 championship appearances.

reply