The Super Bowl looms — and yet it seems that all anyone is talking about is — deflationgate!
We launched this week’s poll by acknowledging the widely divergent perspectives on the issue, everything from:
- the camp that believes that the inflation level of footballs makes no real difference (at least not in the outcome of the AFC championship game); to
- the group that feels that rules are rules, and having 11 of 12 footballs weighing in at two pounds per square inch less than the minimum 12.5 pounds per square inch falls well outside the realm of accidental or coincidental, and requires redress; to
- the camp that thinks the focus on the proper inflation level of footballs is silly, or at least a non-issue; and
- everything in between.
Yes, we heard LOTS of different perspectives! In fact, readers took advantage of the unique “add a response” feature to more than TRIPLE the potential responses to this week’s poll, which posed the question:
“What do you think should happen as a consequence of ‘deflationgate?’”
The most selected response, though not by much, was:
"The Patriots should pay a BIG fine."
The second-most selected response was:
"The Patriots should pay a BIG fine and lose a draft pick."
And the third-most selected was:
“$25,000 and the loss of a draft pick is far too mild a penalty considering each Super Bowl player is paid more than this, even the losers.”
At that point, responses turned in a slightly different direction — and away from the teams:
“The referees were supposed to check the Patriots' footballs before the game and at halftime, so if there was a problem it is their fault” and “Better process of checking balls during the game.”
After that, the most popular response was:
“Nothing. It hasn't even been established that anyone did anything wrong.”
Considering the tenor and passion of the responses, it shouldn’t be surprising that the LEAST popular response to this week’s poll was:
“I don’t know. And I don’t care.”
Thanks to everyone who participated in our poll!
Got a suggestion for a future poll? Post it in the comments below, or email me at [email protected].
