If Cheating Pays...

Later this week we are about to see a precedent made for a team caught cheating. We already have a sense of public outcry when an athlete cheats. What about when a coach's team employs a decoy (for lack of a better term) in determining another teams signals? Of course I refer to what Commissioner Roger Goodell lays down on the New England Patriots on Friday. As for cheating, well.....

Baseball fans will tell you that some players are expert on stealing signs from a catcher if on base. Of course the runner doesn't know if the first finger wiggled will be the actual pitch or a decoy to another toss. It has been going on for years, much like the occasional KY abuser or spitter specialist on the mound. Gaylord Perry comes to mind.

Further, when you see a first or third base coach give a signal, you may see a wave of the arm, tip of the cat, rub of the chest, clap of the hand. You must then decide which signal is the live one...Signal stealing in baseball has been around since time began. Ty Cobb made it an art form as has Alex Rodriguez in the modern era.

Have you ever asked yourself how many cameras and videos are used (with different angles) at a televised pro football game? Sundays the answer is anywhere from 5 to 15. Monday nights 13 on up. Even higher for the Super Bowl. I would think that if there's a telly up in the coaches box or a telly feed anywhere in the stadium, what are you not going to see to speculate on anyway?

Don't get me wrong, there is a fine line I am about to walk here. I find it funny on one hand that there is an issue/worry about a team spying/cheating for an advantage yet we allow instant replay to act as Big Brother when a bad call is obvious. No doubt Las Vegas cringes when that happens.

I also can't help but wonder if this is a matter of 'dynasty hating'. Once upon a time fans LOVED to applaud a team that was successful year after year. The Steelers of the 70's, The Niners of the 80's, The Cowboys of the 90's, The Packers of the 60's. These days we want to see new blood each year and no Yanks or Red Sox or defending champ from a previous year.

Roger Goodell has shown some tough love on players and coaches who violate rules. I am guessing this act of cheating will be costly-Loss of draft picks, forfeiture of said game maybe, and how about a 2 game suspension with a second violation grounds for permanent termination? Even worse, if there is proof of cheating in years past, how about an asterisk on the three Super Bowl rings? Don't get mad, I'm merely being rhetorical!

The NHL and NBA have had issues with off field stuff involving betting. The last thing the NFL needs (Thug mentality off-field issues aside) is a cheating scandal. Man, would Howard Cosell have a field day with this version of the NFL!

Expect the sentence to be heavy, and harsh. Let the gauntlet be put down. Billion dollar TV monies on the line, act like you have been there before!

As an aside, I want to put an idea in the minds of Cowboy fans. On October 14th, when the Patriots come to town, what would the chances be of having 60,000 rabid fans dressed up as spies? THAT WOULD BE HILARIOUS! Better yet, have 30,000 dressed as spies, the other half dressed up in shoddy hoodies. You can call it 'Spy Hoodie Affair'. Think about it.

Here's hoping the next ten years will be as wondrous as the last ten have been. Make it a great day. I will now rest up from a dental visit which I will address in my next blog.

Over and out in Big D

Mr Will