Peter King hinted that the St. Louis Rams might try to have the result of the Patriots' first Super Bowl win, Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, overturned due to Spygate. The Boston Globe has reported that the Patriots taped the Rams final walkthrough before the big game. According to Mike Martz, that walkthrough consisted of half-speed rehearsal of red zone plays.
I went ahead and reviewed the play-by-play of Super Bowl XXXVI. The Rams did not run a play in the Patriots' red zone until there was 11:21 remaining in the fourth quarter, down to New England 17-3. They scored on that possession. The game-tying touchdown to Ricky Proehl came from the Patriots' 26-yard-line. The Rams had ONE red zone possession and they scored seven points on that drive. What basis do they have for having the outcome overturned?
blahblahblahblahblahblah This cannot be undone
Look, I'm all for a full investigation of Spygate to determine the exact advantage it gave the Pats. I also want to know if this was a one-team operation, or wink-wink-nudge-nudge activity done by most of the league that Belichick just had to sacrifice himself over. I think it's ridiculous to talk about overturning the outcome of years-old athletic contests based on slight advantages.
The most we can get out of Spygate is an idea of how much or how little value we should place on the Patriots' championships. We already know that all Lombardis are not created equal. Who would consider the Bucs' SB XXXVII win on par with any of the Cowboys' wins in the 90s? No one I hope.
2 Responses:
If this were the Jets and not a contemporary dynasty in the New England Patriots, I think this might be a totally different discussion.
I can't even think of a situation where the league would overturn the result of a Super Bowl.
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