The Voice of Reason

By John McMullen
The Phanatic Magazine

I understand why people dislike the New England Patriots.

Quite simply, it's jealousy...the Pats are extremely successful and have been mentored by a guy most feel is arrogant and without class.

For that reason, "Spygate" struck me as a non-story since day one and finally, a seasoned voice of reason, has come forward to confirm my suspicions.

It certainly wasn't the more embarrassing by the moment senior Senator from Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter. But, that wasn't exactly a surprise...looking for open-minded independent thinker in our government is like expecting an honest defensive effort by Andre Iguodala -- you might see once or twice a year.

The left side of the aisle in Washington has spent the past four decades preying on the fears of the impoverished and ill-informed, while Specter's party has spent their time lining the coffers of big-time business at the expense of middle-class Americans.

I can't help thinking Specter, a stereotypical know-it-all Eagles fan, saw a way to went over a disappointing Super Bowl loss while helping out his buddies at Comcast, the cable giant that calls Philadelphia home and just happens to be tied up in some nasty litigation with the NFL over the NFL Network.

Comcast campaign contributions have been helping fuel Specter's career for many years so why not take a shot at one of their enemies if given the opportunity? Sure, the Senator looks like a fool and takes a public relations hit but that's a small price to pay.

I mean getting back at the haughty Bill Belichick certainly trumps the fact I can't get to The Phanatic Magazine offices without taking out a loan for gas -- doesn't it?

"If they were filming the walk-though in 2002 and they were stealing the signals in 2007, what happened in 2005 with the Eagles?" Specter asked WIP's Angelo Cataldi "It's part of a bigger picture. The league really needs some accountability, and I intend to push for it."

Damn right...Who cares about the economy, immigration, the war or health care...The NFL needs accountability!

Well let me put the Senator at ease, the Pats were "cheating" against his beloved Birds. Of course, none of it matters beacause the Eagles were doing the same thing.

Don't think so?

Well listen to a guy who's bullet proof in this City. The guy who is still smiling at you from above I-95 -- Dick Vermeil.

"Personally, I don't think it had any effect on the game," Vermeil told the Associated Press regarding Matt Walsh's "bomshell" that the Pats filmed his team's walk-through before the Super Bowl in 2002. "That stuff's been going on forever and I don't think you gain from it."

The 71-year-old Vermeil went on to say teams (notice the plural spelling) taping their opponents has gone on as long as he's been in football and that any information a team garnered from spying on an opponent's final practice would be limited. In fact, Vermeil noted it very well could be counterproductive, in that it would cause the team to over-emphasize what it discovered in the walk-through.

So cheer up Eagles fans, four years after the fact you now know what you knew four years ago...Andy Reid and the boys lost...

Thanks Senator Specter.