Everyone is getting in on the New England Patriots' #DeflateGate controversy. A New England fan dug up old footage proving that Aaron Rodgers essentially does the same thing. Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee wondered aloud if the Patriots would be disqualified from their Super Bowl appearance. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brad Johnson revealed that he bribed stadium officials to tamper with the game balls for him prior to Super Bowl XXXVII. Depending on your point of view, the argument is either further proof of New England's shady history, or just a completely worthless bit of headline fodder in the run-up to the Super Bowl. Everyone seems to do it. Why should we care?
Regardless, the entire fiasco is entertaining theater, and late last night, Panthers kicker Graham Gano sent off a few tweets to offer his two cents on the matter:
Since the whole "deflated ball" story is a hot topic right now, here is a situation that we experienced this year...
— Graham Gano (@GrahamGano) January 21, 2015
(1/4)When checking the game balls, the refs check the psi indoors. This is frustrating bc the ball loses some pressure in cold weather...
— Graham Gano (@GrahamGano) January 21, 2015
(2/4)... During our home playoff game this year I asked the official if he could check the psi outside again bc the ball felt flat and he...
— Graham Gano (@GrahamGano) January 21, 2015
(3/4)...said he could not. I guess you can't blame the official for that. Rules are rules. Maybe the league will make some changes this...
— Graham Gano (@GrahamGano) January 21, 2015
(4/4)...offseason. Sucks kicking a flat ball tho. #BombSquadNonetheless 😎
— Graham Gano (@GrahamGano) January 21, 2015Of course, after receiving some flack on Twitter, Gano did make sure to mention that he was only talking about "Kicker footballs", which are handled differently during the game than regular ones.
Listen all of you Twitter haters. I'm only talking about the Kicker footballs lol. Not the Patriots ones...
— Graham Gano (@GrahamGano) January 21, 2015Regardless, he has a point about a football's relationship to cold weather. An ESPN SportsScience segment aired in 2010 provides scientific backing for Gano's anecdote.
The game-time temperature in Foxborough, Mass. was in the 40's and 50's, after the day began in the low teens. Patriots truthers, to the comment boards!
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
[via NESN]
